Point of Emaciation
by EchoSerenade
Summary: Clara first met him at Dr. Hill's office. He intrigued her. In his eyes, she saw everything that she had lost, but something seemed to be very wrong with him. "JOSH! Where are you? I don't want to play hide and seek anymore!" Josh/OC
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn or any of its characters. This will apply to all chapters in this story.**

 **PROLOGUE**

"Mr. Washington?"

Josh looked up at the redhead receptionist who was out of her seat and smiling at him. He couldn't remember her name.

"Mr. Washington?"

"Coming." He didn't want to come here, but the voices of his sisters kept echoing in his head. They blamed him for being a poor brother. He shouldn't have gotten drunk that night. He had passed out like a drunkard and woken to find that both his sisters were missing. When Sam told him what happened, he wanted to make them pay. What had Hannah ever done to them?

His sister was so sweet and naïve. He knew about her crush on Mike from the constant nagging before the gathering at the Washington Pinewood Lodge. She had been so excited to know that Mike was coming. Hannah's crush was harmless. That bitch, Jess, ruined everything. She had been the one to orchestrate everything. He would make her feel all the pain, humiliation, and fear that his sisters had to experience.

"What are you thinking so deeply about?" Dr Hill was sitting behind his desk, looking as if Josh was nothing but an ant.

Josh didn't reply.

The rest of the conversation was pointless. Hill had nothing good to say. Josh wasn't crazy. He knew he wasn't crazy! This man couldn't possibly understand what he was going through. What a waste of time and money.

He stormed out before the session was over.

The receptionist looked up in shock. "Mr. Washington? Are you alright? Mr. Washington!"

Josh left without a word. At home, he didn't tell anyone about what happened or how he felt about Dr. Hill. None of them knew how he felt I the guilt, the self-hate…

Many mornings, he found it difficult to even function. He stayed in bed until morning had come and passed. The antidepressants weren't working. He needed something more. He needed something that would keep his mind from wandering. It came to the point where he had tried several street drugs, but they never helped. They seemed to only amplify the voices and even gave them a physical form.

" _Why didn't you come for me, Josh?"_ Hannah cried out to him.

Beth appeared beside her. Blood poured from her eyes. " _We waited for you. Where were you? Why did you abandon us?"_

" _Avenge us, Josh_ ," Hannah told him. " _Avenge us!"_

"What do I do?!" Josh sobbed, clutching his head.

" _Make them suffer as we did,"_ they wailed.

He curled into a ball, trying to grasp on to the last threads of his sanity.

...

"Good morning, Mr. Washington," the receptionist greeted him, the same smile on her pink lips.

"Josh," he said. As cliché as it was, Mr. Washington only reminded him of his negligent father. "Call me Josh."

"Of course." She looked at the computer screen briefly before gesturing to one of the empty sears. "You're a little early, but please take a seat. Dr. Hill will be right with you."

He'd never took note of her soft British accent until now. It was very pleasant to listen to. She'd probably be more therapeutic for him than that _doctor_ – in more ways than one. He tried to keep his thoughts from straying too far into that dangerous territory.

"Josh? Josh!"

He wasn't sure how long she had been standing there calling to him. "Sorry."

"Right this way, please."

His eyes took in the way the black pencil skirt stretched around her bottom. There was so much that he'd do to her.

The talk with Dr. Hill was no better than the last. He kept trying to get Josh to tell him all his problems. Talk. Talk. Talk. Talk. Talk. Josh didn't walk to talk. He wanted to stop hearing his sisters die over and over again. He just wanted it all to stop.

"Are you still here with us?"

He clenched his hands. No. No, he couldn't stand it here. He didn't like that doctor's tone. He didn't like anything here.

Like last time, he left early. His shoes moved quickly through the scratchy, grey carpet.

"Josh?" he heard the receptionist call out to him. Every day was the same. "Josh, wait!"

The clacking of footsteps followed him, but he was faster. He raced down the stairs instead of waiting for the elevator.

"Josh, please!'  
The bitch was so damn persistent. HE wanted to be left alone. He needed to get out. Get out. _**GET OUT!**_

 __"Jo – " A scream and thud made him stop in his tracks. His breath came out in heavy puffs. Slowly, he walked back up several flights when he couldn't hear her anymore. As he rounded up one more corner, he saw her on the floor, moaning in pain.

"Are you… okay?" He approached her cautiously as if this could all be a trap.

She sniffed, clutching her ankle. When she looked up at him, he could see her grey eyes glazed with unshed tears. "I think I m-may have twisted it or b-broke it."

He knelt down, carefully took off the black heel, and looked at the swollen and red patch. "Why did you run after me?"

She looked down. "I've been there before. I've lost people I've loved and I know how hard it is to move on."

"You don't know anything!" he roared. His voice echoed in the stairwell. He watched her cringe away and felt the immediately grip of remorse. Reeling in the anger, he tried to help her up, but she was reluctant to have him so close. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't want to scare you. I just…"

She looked back at him with a small smile. "It's okay. I told you. I've been there before – the whole… the whole nine metres."

He cracked a smile. "Nine yards," he corrected her. "The phrase is: the whole nine yards."

"Oh." A soft blush appeared on her cheeks.

They sat there in silence for a few minutes.

"Do you think you could… help me back into the office?"

For the first time since the incident, he smiled.


	2. Chapter 1

_NOTE_ _: I don't usually do these at the beginning of chapters, but I forgot to mention it in the Prologue. If you haven't figured it out already, this story may have triggering topics. Read at your own discretion._

* * *

 **CHAPTER ONE**

Clara had been working for Dr. Hill ever since he helped her get her life back on track. It had been the hardest of years, but slowly, the haze of insanity began to depart. It was like being reborn. The world was just a little brighter, people weren't so frightening, and she didn't hate herself as much as before.

After her sessions were over, she stayed here for schooling. Alberta wasn't so different from London. It got a lot colder during the winter, but nothing a thick coat couldn't cure. During this time, Dr. Hill had given her a part-time job in his office. It was mainly just filing or cleaning or fetching water at first, but during the summer, he began to teach her some of his trade. It helped with her own recovery, understanding herself and how to understand others.

When she graduated high school, she had a permanent position as his receptionist. He became the father figure that she never had. He reintroduced the concepts of right and wrong to her. He made her want to be better.

With the money from the job, she managed a small flat of one bedroom and washroom. She lived frugally, but contently.

Not long after she started her job, someone in the sitting room caught her eye. He looked to be of a similar age to her. The dark bags under his eyes and pale pallor was reminiscent to how she looked several years ago.

She wasn't allowed to look at the patients' files, but somehow, she had a feeling that they were similar in some ways.

When he ran out the first time, she wanted to go after him, but she had been afraid that it would only make matters worse. For his second session, she went to talk to him, but couldn't find the courage. As he raced away a second time, however, she wasn't going to let another opportunity go by.

Like a fool, she had followed him in the most uncomfortable shoes that she owned. She hoped to catch him before the elevator arrived, but it seemed that he had a different idea. Josh Washington opted for the dreaded stairs.

Her shoes were barely made for walking, let alone a full on sprint down long flights of stairs. Just going down the first set nearly had her slipping the rest of the way had it not been for her reflexive reach for the railing. When the third flight came, the heel landed at an odd angle. Her knees buckled from the lack of support, sending her entire body falling. Gravity was a cruel mistress.

Her world spun. It felt as if she had just been inside a blender and her ankle was caught on the blade. She moaned in pain, tears stinging her eyes. She was such an idiot. What did she hope to accomplish? Josh was probably long gone by now and she was stuck in the bloody stairwell, unable to move.

As she quietly sobbed to herself, a hesitant voice reached her.

"Are you… okay?"

She didn't think he was going to come back, but she was glad that he did. She shared a bit of herself, hoping that he could see that there was someone who could possibly understand what he was going through. Whether it was successful or not, she didn't know.

After he helped her back up, he left quickly before Dr. Hill could discover what had happened. She never told the doting man. After seeing a doctor regarding her ankle, she was informed that it was only a minor sprain. She was back at the office the next morning with a crutch by her side.

He came regularly after – once a week on Tuesdays. Sometimes, he'd be muttering to himself and others, he'd be dead silent. It was almost unnerving for Clara to watch. Not once had he initiated any conversation with her, but he was at least responsive when she spoke with him.

As Christmas passed by, he suddenly stopped coming. At first, she thought he had gone on vacation with his family, but a video of Bob Washington's interview said otherwise. The man was a known workaholic, someone she had experienced with. She doubt he'd even take the time off Christmas to spend time with his family.

It was nearly another month until she saw him again. He looked ever more worse for wear. His hair was a mess – greasy and unkempt – and his eyes were bloodshot. It seemed that he hadn't slept for a while. Every once in a while, he'd mumble something and tug at his hair. "Not my fault…"

She walked over to him. "How are you, today, Josh?" She spoke softly, afraid to startle him.

He looked up at her as if meeting for the first time. After staring blankly at her for a minute, it didn't seem like he was going to respond.

"I haven't seen you in a while. We've missed you here." She sat down beside him.

"I was planning," he stated. She couldn't tell if he meant that he had been planning to come here or that he was planning something else. "I was planning," he repeated. "They need me."

"Who needs you?"

"Hannah and Beth. They need me. I can't fail them, again. I can't. _I CAN'T!"_ he shouted. She was glad that they were the only ones here. The other patients didn't need to see him lose it.

"Where are they, Josh?" she whispered, her heart sinking as she began to form her own conclusions. She realised that it was going to get a little more personal.

"I don't know," he sobbed. "I think they're still waiting for me to find them, but I don't know how."

She had heard about the incident at the mountains. Two Washington members had gone missing. It hadn't clicked until now that Josh was related to them. It was a tragedy that shook their small town. The Washington family was rich – they were prominent. What happened had been a terrible freak accident prompted by an insensitive prank.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Dr. Hill observing them with a clipboard in his hand. He gave her a nod of encouragement. It was going to be her first… well, unofficial session. She thought she was going to be more excited than this, but she knew that this was going to hit her hard and she didn't know if she was ready for that.

This was highly unprofessional and she figured that if anyone knew about it, Dr. Hill may even have his license revoked, so why was he allowing this to follow through? She wasn't qualified for any of this.

"Do you want to talk about it?" She tried to urge him to speak.

He shook his head.

"Is there anything that you want to talk about?"

"Can we talk about you?" He looked at her with a glint in his eyes. She wasn't sure what to think of it.

"What do you want to know?" Everything about this was completely unorthodox.

"What's your name?"

She looked at him in surprised before a burst of laughter escaped. It had never crossed her mind to introduce herself to him. "Clara. I'm Clara."

"Josh," he automatically replied. "But you already know that."

A smile graced her lips. "You know, I had a cat named Josh, once."

"You named your cat Josh?" He looked at her as if she was the one who was mad.

"No, but my neighbour did." She grinned. "They were moving out and couldn't take him with them so… so…" The happiness was suddenly drained from her face. Something was screaming in her head. "He stayed with… me." This had been a terrible idea. She thought that she was finally over it, but as the memories came flooding back, it felt as if she was drowning. "What about you? Did you have any pets?" Best to turn the conversation back to him.

"Just a few fish that we flushed down the toilet after we fed them too much," he chuckled. "Hannah was always so passionate about everything. She loved so freely." His voice waved and his eyes turned downcast. "And Beth and I loved her so much, but why was it only Beth who went after her? Why hadn't I been there?"

"It's not your fault, Josh," she told him. "You've done the best you could, considering the circumstances. Even if you went after them, everyone might also be looking for you, too."

"I could've saved them!"

"You don't know that." She looked him in the eyes. "What came into motion, no one could've stopped it by then. I know how much you love them and they do too. I know they do. Anyone who tells you otherwise is _lying_. Don't listen to those little voices feeding you poison. There are so many people who love and care about you."

He opened his mouth to retort, but thought better of it.

"Do you… ever blame them?" It was a loaded question.

He hesitated before answering. "They didn't mean for it to happen." His voice was steady, holding more control than she had ever heard from him. "But I'd be lying if I said that I didn't hold something against them." He sighed. "I know that neither Hannah nor Beth would want us to be like this, so… I've decided to invite them back for our annual winter get together. Maybe we could all finally address the elephant in the room and find the closure that we need."

She was surprised by his reply. It was very mature and he seemed to have everything figured out. His progress was much quicker than hers had been, but she toyed with the idea that he was playing her. She had seen how he had been just minutes earlier – muttering to himself. It was unlikely that he would turn a one-eighty so quickly.

"Do you want to join me? Keep me in check; do some psycho-analysis…"

She was surprised to say the least. It was very sudden. They hadn't known each other for long and she didn't know any of his friends. As his words fully sank in, a frown appeared on her face. "If I go, I don't want to go to be some kind of shrink for you. I want to go as... as a friend."

He nodded. "Of course, I was only kidding. Will you go as my friend, then?"

She smiled. "Of course, Josh."

Something in his eyes unsettled her.

She didn't have to tell Dr. Hill about the turn of events, but he wasn't happy. He thought it was a terrible idea to go. She agreed. Something wasn't quite right about Josh, but… he really intrigued her.

There had never been an opportunity for her to hang out with people in high school. She was considered a pariah. Everyone knew that she was seeing a shrink. No one wanted to hang out with the crazy girl, so she kept to herself.

Josh was actually the first person that she truly felt connected to. He made her want to open up. He made her heart race and her stomach feel as if butterflies were fluttering about in there. He brought something to her monotonous life.

She didn't want to let it go.

With some convincing, Dr. Hill reluctantly gave her the week off. She packed a hefty backpack with thick winter coats and sweaters. For her, the mountains was something new. It was never in the forefront of her mind to visit giant rock formations, but somehow, she couldn't stop thinking about the trip. It made her heart race with excitement.

She looked at her old bottle of antidepressants before throwing them into her bag. Just in case. His friends didn't sound too nice and she wondered how they were going to react to her unexpected intrusion.

…

She was sitting alone on the bus up the mountain. Only one other person was here, not counting the driver. It was a female around her age. She seemed immersed with watching something on her phone, so Clara didn't bother approaching her, not as if she would either way, but she was curious. Was the blonde a friend of Josh? She could feel the familiar feeling of anxiety nagging at her.

The ride was extremely boring. Nothing except snow, trees, and dirt made up the scenery. On occasion, there'd be a deer, but it wasn't exactly rare in these parts. Sometimes, one would just wander into town, looking for food. They were generally non-violent, gentle creatures as long as they're not provoked.

Once the bus stopped, she noticed that the other girl was heading to the same direction. Clara couldn't think of anyone other than Josh's friends would be up here at this time, especially since the Washingtons owned a large liveable portion of Blackwood Mountain. Before she could rack up the motivation, the other woman ran up to her.

"Hey, I've never seen you before. Where are you heading to?" There was a friendly smile on her face. The blonde seemed like a tiny ball of energy.

"Erm… The Washington Lodge?" Why couldn't she have gone with Josh? This was so awkward.

"Me, too. I'm Sam," the blonde introduced herself. "Don't mean to sound rude, but who invited you?" Curiosity sparkled in her eyes, along with a bit of mischief.

Clara smiled shyly at her. "Josh."

"Yeah? How long have you known him? Are you two – you know…" Sam nudged her with an elbow.

She looked away with a light blush on her face. "No, we're just friends. We met a couple of months ago."

"Ooh… But you like him, don't ya?" Sam continued to tease.

Clara could only assume that Sam wasn't actually mocking her. Despite her head telling her to keep to herself, Sam had an alluring personality that drew her in.

They made the rest of the way to the edge of the Washington property with only some light chat. The fence slowly zoomed into view and a note was slipped between the black iron gate bars.

' _The gate's busted, Climb over. – Chris'_

"Damn it," Sam cursed under her breath.

"Looks like it's been iced over." In fact, everything looked frozen for miles. She wondered if she brought enough clothes to keep warm.

Sam walked over to the stone fencing and began to scale it. Clara gaped as she leapt from one spot to another. How exactly was someone like Clara going to do it? With a sigh, she tried to follow Sam's footsteps, but even then, she had slipped several times before finally reaching the top with Sam's help.

What exactly was Josh doing here early if nothing was made accessible?

Once they arrived at the cable car, someone else was already there. A backpack sat vibrating from a phone that was poking out. Clara could see the curiosity coming back in Sam's eyes, but out of sheer willpower, the petite woman zipped the backpack up – hiding the temptation.

"Hey, Sam!" A blonde man with glasses framing blue eyes came jogging over.

"Chris!"

He gave her a wide smile before noticing Clara. "You brought a friend along?"

"Actually, _Josh_ invited her." Sam grinned. "Chris this is…" She trailed off as she realised that the other woman hadn't introduced herself, yet.

"Clara," the redhead offered with a small smile. "It's wonderful to meet the both of you."

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE _

We're finally getting into the plot of the game. I'm hoping to put some twists and turns in there, but we'll see. As you may be able to tell from the end of this chapter, I'm most likely not going to be copying the dialogue. I know I've done that in a few of my stories, but I just get so caught up with getting everything that they say correct that I lose all traces of originality.

For the most part, it will follow the game, but regarding which paths, you'll have to read and see.

I would like to thank all of you reviewers: **xxKhaleesixx** , **Aplin** , **PorcelainPuppetLady,** **meangirl8**. They were so encouraging and kind.

Thank you also to everyone who has favourited and followed this story.

 _Echo_


	3. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

For Clara, the cable car ride up the rest of the maintain was awkward. It was like high school all over again. Two friends were talking amicably and she was the outsider. It wasn't a game that she wanted to play.

The ride couldn't be over fast enough. She left the cable car and tried the door, only to find it locked. No… Why? She wanted to get out. She needed to get out. "It's locked," she mumbled to the other two, who groaned in disbelief and tried to door themselves.

It was very, very much locked. She hated this.

Clara sat by the door and buried her face in her knees. This was already turning out to be a disaster. Why hadn't she listened to Dr. Hill?

"Hey! Hey! Is anyone there?" Sam shouted, banging on the window of the door.

Clara shivered as the cold began to permeate through her coat.

 _"Clara, supper!"_

 _She padded over to the kitchen where the exquisite scent of her mother's cooking wafted through the air. Roast turkey! She had always hoped for a day like this. Thanksgiving Day was always neglected because no one ever had time to celebrate it. Mother would be at work. Father would be at work. Clara would be left to her own device and the number to the pizza place._

 _This year, however, father was out on some sort of trip, so mother took the day off and splurged a little on a better meal. Her mother had always been a wonderful cook._

 _She moved a chair to the counter and climbed on to it to reach the china cabinet. There were always a set that she wanted to use. With permission, she took them down and set the table. Mother placed down each dish. Clara stared, salivating with anticipation._

 _"Mum, this looks brilliant. Papa doesn't know what he's missing!" she exclaimed._

 _As she happily scooped up a generous portion of mash and cut up some of the turkey, she didn't notice the downward turn of her mother's lips._

"Clara? Clara!"

She jolted back to reality and looked at Sam's worried expression. "Sorry… I must've zoned out a little."

The blonde smiled. "Come on. Jess was waiting outside. She saved us from turning into human popsicles!"

They walked out of the small, cold room.

Were all of Josh's friends blonde?

"Who are you? I thought it was just going to be our group coming. The lodge isn't up for rentals, you know." Clara immediately felt like a trespasser, but mainly, she felt contempt for this woman. Jess looked like a typical mean girl. This was what Clara had been afraid of. Sam and Chris seemed harmless enough, but Jess was something else entirely.

"Hey!" Sam didn't look happy. "Clara's coming with us to the lodge. Josh wanted her to come."

Jess scoffed. "I thought this was a day for us to mourn them. She doesn't even know what we've all been through last year!"

"Jess, come on," Chris tried to calm her down. "This is a day for everyone. If Josh wants her to come alone, we should all respect his decision. He's the one who's been through the most."

Clara shuffled nervously from feet to feet. "It's alright. I'll just… start heading to the lodge. Don't mind me."

Without waiting for a reply, she hurried off. Disastrous. Absolutely disastrous. All she wanted to do now was lock herself in her room and wait for the weekend to be over. She wanted to cry and scream and just be alone forever.

"Wait, Clara!"

Reluctantly, she stopped her brisk pace and slowed to a halt.

"Clara, Jess didn't mean it," Sam tried to explain Jess' poor reception. "She's usually pretty nice, but… Sometimes she just doesn't have a working verbal filter and I think she's been feeling really guilty about what happened last year."

"Yeah. I don't know about you, but I'm freezing," Christ suggested. "Let's go find the others."

Sam grinned. "You mean go see Ashley, don't you?"

Clara trailed behind them until the lodge came into view. The dark hair stood out like a beacon of light against the white. She felt herself begin to pick up speed.

"Josh!"

He stood up from his position on the stairs and waved at them. "Clara, I was afraid you wouldn't be able to make it." He looked genuinely happy to see her. "I know that Dr. Hill is probably a slave driver."

"Just a bit." She was glad that there was finally a familiar face. "It's good to see you."

"You, too."

"Alright, love birds," Christ called to them. "There are two other very clueless people here."

Clara turned and saw that their group now consisted of five people. There was a long-haired brunette female who was gazing curiosity at her. The other was a black hair male with darker skin. He looked upset about something and Clara could only hope that it wasn't because of her.

"Guys, everyone, this is Clara. She works for the shrink. She's great, so I don't want to see anyone bullying her, okay?" Josh wrapped an arm around Clara's shoulders. "Now, go introduce yourselves to her while I take care of this little problem we have here."

"I'm Ashley," the brunette spoke first. She was standing quite closely to Chris. At first glance, Clara thought there was a sort of unrequited romance happening, but the way they were looking at each other told otherwise.

"Matt." The other stranger didn't say anything more. He looked to be distracted by something. His eyes wandered into the distance, waiting for someone she didn't know.

"Christ, my man!" Josh gave his friend a manly hug. "Want to help me with something?" He went to the door and tugged at it.

"Iced over?"

"Yeah."

Chris bent down to look through the hole before tugging the knob a few times. "Maybe we can go 'round back?"

Clara watched as the two left, wanting nothing more than to follow them. When she took her first step, however, Ashley pulled her to the side. "Is something the matter?" the redhead asked, confusion and a slightly tinge of annoyance clearly in her voice.

Ashley looked nervously at her. "You work with Josh's shrink, right?" Her hazel eyes flitted around her, watching to see if anyone was listening in.

Clara nodded. Where was this going? Did she want some kind of juicy gossip? Surely Ashley didn't think she'd tell her.

"Do you think we can talk in private later?" Ashley bit her lips. "I really need someone to talk to about what happened and I can't tell them." She gestured to her friends. "It'd be so weird. I need an outside view and you've worked with his doctor."

Clara gave it a thought. She didn't like being reminded that she was an outsider, but she really wanted to hear what Ashley had to say. It could give her an insight on the situation this weekend and with Josh. The newspaper never went into too much detail. They were more interested with digging up the past and talking about the father, Bob Washington. "Sure. Whenever you'd like, but I'm really only the receptionist. I'm not qualified for any serious work."

"That's okay. I just really, really need to talk to someone about it." Ashley pleaded with her eyes.

Clara reassured her that it was alright and to see her later.

They waited for another five minutes before Chris' face popped up from behind the door. Sam demanded that he'd hurry up. There was a creak, a crack, and a bang. The door swung open.

Everyone filed in, excited to get out of the cold.

Inside, the lodge was architecturally beautiful. Large wooden pillars supported the two storey building. There was a staircase that led even further down. It was enormous, much bigger than it looked from the outside. Clara continued to look around. There was a thick layer of dust over all the furniture coverings. It was dark and cold, only a step up from outside.

"Someone close the door!"

Once it was shut, the lodge seemed more inhabitable, but the wood was still a poor insulator against the cold. The wind could be heard wheezing through the old window.

"Guys, make yourself at home!" Josh appeared behind them. "Don't be strangers. You know the place! Well, most of you. Clara, you can stay close to me. I'll show you how everything is done here." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

She blushed, but was glad that he was considerate enough to not through her into the unknown with at least a map.

"Come on, Clara. I'll show you to your room."

This Josh seemed to be very different from the other that she had come to know at the office. Here, he was outgoing and open. There was no evidence of his episodes. She was glad that he seemed to be improving, but if this was all a ruse, Clara was afraid. Did he have something planned for her?

"Here it is!" He opened the door with gusto and bowed his head. Why was it so hard to guard herself against his charm?

She laughed before walking in.

The room was almost overly spacious for her. Just the bed was nearly the size of her entire bedroom. There was even an en-suite. "It's wonderful, Josh." She ran a hand on the smooth mahogany dresser. "A bit dusty, but it's the most beautiful bedroom I've ever been in."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "And how many bedrooms have you been in. Are there things you haven't told me, Miss Clara?"

"Loads of things I haven't told you, Mr. Josh," she teased. "You'll just have to figure them out."

"Looking forward to that." He took her hand and guided her to the vanity table. "Here."

Inside the drawer was a small box, wrapped with a navy blue ribbon. It was crudely tied, but the sentiment was there.

"And what is this, Josh?"

"Open it and see." With a twinkle of mischief in his eyes, he began to back up out of the room. "Oh, and if you need anything, my room is just beside yours to the right. And I mean _anything_ – including helping you use what's inside that box."

She flushed at the idea that he may be flirting with her and what exactly was in that box? She pulled the ribbon away and stored it in her pocket before tearing away at the wrapping paper. She stared in shock at the contents.

"JOSH WASHINGTON‼!"

Everyone downstairs turned at the shout.

"What did you do?" Sam inquired. From what she gathered, Clara was a quiet, soft-spoken person. What did Josh do to make her scream like that?

He gave them a toothy grin. "She just looked at the present I left in her room."

"Oh, not that," Chris groaned. Josh wd told him, but he didn't think it was for real.

"You got it, Cochise!"

When Clara walked down, she had the box of condoms in her hand. "What is this?" she hissed at him.

He quietly hushed her with a smug look on his face. "What does it look like?"

"Josh – "

He hushed her, again, leaving her irritated and flustered. It was only then that she noticed two more had joined them – an Asian woman and a brunette man. There seemed to be an argument between those two, Matt, and Jess.

"That's Mike and Emily," Ashley whispered to her from the other side. "They used to be together, but Mike is with Jess now and Emily's with Matt."

"No one wants in on your territory, honey," Emily snarled at Jess who had been cuddling with Mike.

"Excuse me? Did you say something?" Jess was on her feet in an instant.

"Did you not hear me?" Emily sneered. "Is your sluttiness too loud?"

Clara's eyes were wide as she stared at them. That, despite the malicious intention behind it, was simply an amazing retort. From beside her, she could see Josh's shaking shoulders and silent laughter. It was difficult to stifle her own giggles that was waiting to burst out, instead, she whispered to Ashley. "Are they always like this?"

Ashley shook her head. She didn't know whether to be amused or troubled by the spat. "They used to be best friends before what happened last year." She spoke quiet enough to be out of Josh's hearing range. "Emily and Mike broke up and then Jess came in. I think Emily is still hung up on him."

"Hey! Hey!" Josh finally jumped in to defuse the argument before it turned into a physical fight. "Here, the keys that I promised you two. Just follow the trail to the guest cabin and you guys can have your sexy time."

Mike sent him a relieved look. "Thanks, man." He guided his enraged girlfriend to the back door.

Emily hugged. "That cow…" Her dark eyes looked towards her friends before settling on a new face. "And who are _you_?"

"Be nice, Em," Josh warned her. "This is Clara."

Emily rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

The tension was still suffocating until both Emily and Matt left to retrieve a forgotten bag at the cable car. The rest shared a half grimace, half amused look. This was going to be an interesting weekend.

Clara never knew that the dynamic between friends could be so dysfunctional. It nearly made her question why she ever wanted something like this before. Shaking her head, she turned to Josh. "What exactly did you give me a box of _condoms_ , Mr. Washington?"

He made a face at the name. "Just a joke? Unless… You don't want it to be. I mean, we'll all be staying here for two days – nothing to do… My room's beside yours…"

She hit him with the box.

"Ow!"

"You'd have to do better than that."

"Can't blame a guy for trying."

Everyone began to settle into the lodge. A fire was burning in the small fireplace. It already looked more lively. The remaining five were gathered around, discussing what to do. They came up with a few ideas. Most of them were silly and Josh even suggested making snow angels naked until Sam hit him.

Out of the blue, Josh suddenly suggested that they could do a séance. Why he thought it was a good idea, Clara didn't know. She thought it was a terrible, terrible idea. This trip was meant for them to find closure. Trying to contact the dead was anything but. She didn't want him to lapse back.

"Josh… Josh!" She tugged him over to a private corner, away from the others. There were a few cat calls and wolf whistles, but she ignored them.

"If you wanted to make out, we could've gone somewhere a little more private."

When had Josh become such a bloody flirt? With a deep breath she shook away the flutter of her heart and told him what was on her mind. "I don't' think we should be doing this. Of all things… I thought you wanted to get better and this isn't the way to do it."

The lightness in his eyes disappeared. "I thought you were here as my friend, not my therapist."

"That's not fair." She was annoyed by the low blow. "I can be a friend and still worry about your mental state."

"I don't need you for that," he replied through gritted teeth.

"I care about you. I came here for you, but if you won't do what you can to help yourself, then maybe I shouldn't be here. I'll just get my bag and leave." Tears stung her eyes, but she ignored them. She turned on her heels and ran upstairs.

By the time she was in her room, her entire body was shaking. This was all a bleeding mess. She couldn't stay here. Josh wasn't who she thought he was.

It suddenly felt as if she was suffocating in here. She needed air. Without even thinking about the cold, she flung the creaky window open. The cold air shocked her out of her panicked state.

She was going to be fine. She was going to be fine.

Opening her bag, she frantically searched for her bottle of pills. Just this once. She hadn't taken any in a few years, just a few should be fine. It would make her fine.

"Hey! Porn stars! You're gonna need these." Josh's voice suddenly flowed into the room.

Porn stars?" Jess sounded incredulous.

"I'd pay to see it." Clara couldn't believe what she was hearing. Had Josh always been so disgusting? Did he flirt with every girl?

"Uh, gross," Jess retorted.

As she was about to close the window, she heard Jess, once more. "I think Josh was flirting with me." Her heart clenched.

"What you want to invite him with us?" Mike joked.

"Uh, really…?" The hopeful tone in that blonde's voice was enough to send Clara back into her frenzied state. She was done. She was so done with Josh. She was done with Jess. She was done with _everyone_.

She through his _gift_ against the wall, slipped her bag on her back and reached the door, but she couldn't bring herself to open it. Her hands were trembling furiously. Her eyes were blurred with tears. She couldn't face them. She didn't want to face anyone, right now.

 _"Clara, I need you to talk to me."_

 _She had been sitting there for half an hour. That was fine. She didn't have anything better to do. It was just a little boring. At least the chair was comfy._

 _"Why did you do it?"_

 _He knew why. Everyone knew why. They just didn't want to admit it. No one knew how to help her. If they did, she wouldn't have had to suffer through it for so many years._

 _She fiddled with the sleeves of her shirt. The same questions over and over again. It was infuriating. She just wanted to be left alone, in silence._

 _"How have you been sleeping?"_

 _"Fine," she mumbled. "Better if I could go to bed, right now. Maybe I'd never wake up and you wouldn't have to deal with me anymore."_

 _"You know that is not what I want." Dr. Hill glanced up from his notes. "How often have you been taking your medication?"_

 _She didn't reply._

 _"The sleeping pills?"_

 _"I can't sleep without them," she confessed. "I need them. I need them. I keep seeing their faces when I'm awake. I see them when I sleep, too. They don't rest and they don't let me rest. Only the pills can make them go away."_

 _Dr. Hill closed the folder. "That's good for today."_

"Clara?" A soft, remorseful voice snapped her out of her reverie. "I'm sorry."

When she opened her eyes, the person staring back at her was the man she had met several months ago at the office. "Josh?"

"I'm sorry," he apologised, again. "Don't go."

She swallowed hard. "Why am I here, Josh?"

"Because I need you," he whispered. "I'm different when I'm with you. A good kind of different."

"Then don't push me away." She was an idiot. Why couldn't she deny him anything?

He stroked her hand. "Okay."

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

I know I said I wasn't going to deliberately look for quotes from the game, but that "sluttiness" quote is amazing. In regards to other places, I try to grab what I recall from my memories: What they say, what happened in terms of finer details, because I did end up making a very rough outline of the game's plot and what time everything happened in because it's not all linear.

I've also incorporated some of Clara's past to give her character a little more depth. There will be more of that as the story progresses.

The last chapter, I didn't get as many feedback as I hoped. I really love hearing from you and it helps me with my writing, especially when there are some constructive criticism or maybe what you think of the story and characters so far. I hope I haven't made any too out of character, it's always something I battle with.

I'd love to thank **PorcelainPuppetLady** and **VoldemortsBFF** for your reviews. I've read them a couple of times to keep me writing. VoldemortsBFF, I assure you things will start to escalate soon. I'd predict in the next two or three chapters.

Thank you also to all of you who have favourited and/or followed this story. It brings me joy to get those email alerts and I'll admit that I do check every few hours, 'cause I'm a bit obsessed. Teehee.

 _Echo_


	4. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

After Clara had run off, Josh felt an immediate punch of guilt. He hadn't meant to upset her, but he just couldn't stand being bossed around. He didn't need another mother to tell him what to do or another doctor to tell him what he couldn't do, but when he saw the hurt on her face… All he could do was stare longingly at the empty staircase, until Chris came up to him.

"You okay, man?" The blond pat his friend's shoulder. "What happened there? She wasn't happy with the gift? Told you not to do it."

Josh waved him off. "Why don't you guys look for the spirit board or explore around a little? I won't be joining you guys."

He hurried away before anyone could say another word. He wanted to go after Clara, but he wasn't ready. He'd need to have something to distract him, now.

At the library, he began to set up. He placed a photo of Hannah on the table. His sister looked so happy there. He brushed the thought away. This was going to be perfect. He couldn't wait to see the look on their faces. Ashley was going to know what it would feel like to be humiliated. It's only unfortunate that Chris was going to be on for the ride. At least it'd give them some time together.

He sighed. When he walked back up, Sam was complaining about the lack of hot water. He stifled a groan. This was not what he needed, right now.

Sam shouted, again.

Maybe he could say something to make her stop. "I could join you in there!" he shouted back. It was what he would've said back then. Besides, he really could. The blonde was gorgeous and fun. What was there not to like?

"Hardy har har!" came the reply.

"Come on, Sam! Hurry up!" he urged her. How long was she going to keep him waiting? "Let's go to the boiler room."

"Let's go Jo~osh! Let's go!"

Cheerleaders. They had been the holy grail for him back in high school. He would've given almost anything to have one as his girlfriend, but when his sisters disappeared, he realised what they were truly capable of. Emily, Jess, and Sam had all been on the team. They were all catty and cruel – selfish, little Barbies. It was a wonder that Sam had survived it with a decent attitude.

Once the petite female was by his side, he led her down the stairs. Sam had been Hannah's best friend, so he was going to be a little more lenient with her. From what he heard, she hadn't exactly been part of the prank, but she didn't try enough to stop them either. Perhaps just a small scare would do – every horror had some kind of kidnapping.

They quickly turned the hot water boiler on and as he was about to leave, Sam's expression changed. "Josh. Josh, there's something behind you," Sam whispered. Her eyes were fixated on something behind him.

He scoffed. "Yeah, right." What could possibly be here with them? Maybe Chris or Ashley? But that was unlikely. Sam wasn't such a good actress. She needed to work on her facial expressions a little more.

"No, I'm serious. There's something behind you," she persisted.

He looked at her, wondering if he should indulge in the nonsense. Eventually, he turned around before the moment became too awkward for the two of them. Or at least him.

"Got ya!" Sam gave him a hard nudge to the arm. "Thirty-love!"

"What? No." He frowned. "When did you get the first point?" He didn't like losing. Even counting this as a lost was ridiculous.

"Doesn't it start at thirty?" Sam smiled sheepishly at him.

"No." He shook his head.

"Oh, well… I've always been more of a ping pong kinda gal."

Josh looked off to the side before announcing that they should probably head back up. A year ago, he would've loved to pursue a relationship with the petite blonde, but now, it didn't feel quite the same. Sometimes, he felt like an entirely different person and only the spirit of his past self was keeping the façade up.

"Join us, Josh," Beth whispered into his left ear.

"Don't' you want to be with us, again?" came Hannah to his right.

Most of the time, he knew that they weren't actually there, but sometimes, he found it hard to discern what was reality and what was not. "Go away," he mumbled.

"Hm?" Sam turned back to look at him. "Did you say something?"

"Nothing."

Suddenly, a figure popped up in front of them. Sam let out a terrified scream, running straight for the stairs, but the door was locked. This wasn't his doing, but he had an idea who was under those brown robes.

Once they were trapped between the locked door and the hooded figure. A familiar voice reached them. "You've… got monk'd!" Chris took off the hood with a smug grin on his face.

"What?" Sam growled. "Are you… Are you kidding me?"

Josh laughed. Only his best friend would do something brilliant like this.

Sam, however, didn't think it was so funny. She jerked her head towards Josh when he started chortling. "Were you in on it, putz?"

"No, but I wish I was!" he laughed. He couldn't have done it better himself. Well, maybe he could and they were going to have a front row seat to it.

It was going to be great! All the cameras were set. The props were all in place. With a click of a button, this place was going to be an instant house of horrors! Oh, the internet was going to love it! They were going to be famous. He would get a chance to be a famous producer. Everything would be fantastic!

He grinned widely as they reunited with Ashley.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us, Josh?" Chris asked, waving the spirit board in the air.

"Yeah, don't mind me, bro," Josh told him. "I kind of need to do something first."

Christ caught the way his friend's eyes flickered up the stairs. "Maybe you'll actually be able to put those condom to use," he joked.

"What?!" Sam exclaimed, hearing what Chris had just said. Condoms?! What was Josh going to do with Clara? She tried to wrap her mind around it, but it wasn't worth the effort. "You know what? I don't' want to know. I hear a nice, hot bath calling my name. Catch ya all later."

"Good luck, man." Chris patted his shoulder. "I don't want to hear anything weird, okay?"

Josh laughed. "No promises, Cochise. No promises."

That was going to be the least of their worries.

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

This was actually added as an afterthought, so it's quite short. I felt like I needed to address what Josh was doing during the time that Clara had shut herself in her room. I'd love it if you guys would tell me if you'd like to see more of the story from Josh's point of view or whether I should just stick with Clara or even if you want to see a more in-depth narration of another character or characters' thoughts.

The scene in the boiler room, I hope it didn't seem like I was bashing Sam because I absolutely adore her in the game. I just wanted to stress that the entire scene was in Josh's point of view, so it'd be his thoughts and we all know he's not quite right in the head.

Clara's role will become more evident as the story progresses. There will be more flashbacks and they'll help give you the whole picture of why she does everything (or at least that's what I my aim is). I hope you guys don't mind the flashbacks.

And let me tell you this, I absolutely can't believe how many reviews I got for the last chapter! Thank you all so, so much! Thank you **Solleo93, Dusk-deerfluff, VoldemortsBFF, meangirl8, Aplin, AroraHybrid** , and my Guest reviewers ( **vany, Chloe, Guest, and MikoDarcia** ). You guys are amazing and you don't know how much you've contributing to my writing. Just receiving those email notifications made me want to open that notebook every time and write, write, write.

Thank you as well to all the people who have favourited and followed this story.

As usual, a new chapter will come very, very soon and it's all because of you who review, favourite, and follow.

I'd love, love, LOVE to keep hearing from you guys.

 _Echo_


	5. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"Where did everyone go?" Clara looked around the dark, empty foyer. Weren't they doing some voodoo séance?

He shrugged. "They scattered after I told them that I wasn't going to go through with it."

She couldn't believe it. Had he really listened to her? The thought made her heart flutter. "Thanks, Josh. That really means a lot to me."

"Yeah? Well… You mean a lot to me." He turned away, but she had already caught the darkening of his cheeks. "I mean, as a friend, that's… that's why I listened to you."

Her arms seemed to have a mind of their own as they wrapped around his waist. He was really warm. Did friends do this? She couldn't remember the last time she had one. Dr. Hill might've been the closest thing she had to a friend before she met Josh and she never went up to hug him like this. Did Josh mind? She didn't want to let go. Her worries were tamed when she felt him return the embrace.

The feeling made her nervous, but she didn't want it to stop. She wanted this. She really, really wanted this. Whatever this is.

"Clara, can I trust you?"

She looked up at him. What was this about? "Of course. What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, but I've got something to show you." He excited took her by the hand and hurried down to the basement. It was uncharted territory for her. There were movie props everywhere. Some of them were silly, but others were horrifying. She quickly turned away when a bloodied rag doll came into view.

They arrived in what looked to be the security room. There were at least a dozen monitors overlooking the Washington property.

"What are we doing here?"

"To have some fun." He sat on the chair, allowing it to swirl around a few times before facing the monitors. His hand, on the mouse, was rapidly clicking. She couldn't even keep up with her eyes. "Look, Chris and Ashley are here." He pointed to a screen to the top right.

The two wandered around confused and frightened. They were shining a flashlight every which way. "I know what I saw!" Ashley exclaimed. "It was Hannah!"

"There is no such thing as ghosts, Ash."

"Hannah?" Clara turned to Josh with an accusing look on her face. "What is she talking about?" What kind of fun was this?

He shushed her. "Watch." He clicked a few buttons and an apparition appeared on the screen. The sudden appearance forced a startled scream from Clara. "Don't worry. Some of them are only projections. A couple is from a robot I made from an old mannequin. Took me a while, but let me tell you this: it was totally worth it."

Clara pursed her lips. He was scaring his friends in the form of his missing – presumably dead – sister. How morbid and inappropriate was that? It was a terrible way to desecrate the memories of her. The sheer delight on his face made her question his entire state of mind. "Josh, you really shouldn't be doing this."

Despite trying to warn him off, she leaned over his shoulder, watching with a racing heart as the apparition popped up once more.

Ashley screamed in terror.

It was like a horror movie.

"Josh…"

She deserves it, you know," he cut her off. "She was part of the prank. Not finding it so funny anymore, does she?"

"What about Chris? I heard how close the two of you are. He wasn't in on the prank, was he?"

He looked at her with a twisted grin. "I'm only helping his love life along. Chris is taking too long and what do all frightened girls do? Cling on to the closest guy. You know, like what you're doing now?"

Clara found that he was right and immediately backed away. Her face was burning with embarrassment. "Surely, there is a better way to go about this?"

He frowned at her. "Come on, Clara. They played a prank that got my sisters killed. I think I have the right to at least scare them a little."

She bit her lips. "If anyone gets hurt, you have to promise me you'll stop it." He looked away. "Josh!"

"Alright. Alright, I promise, okay?" he finally gave in, albeit grudgingly.

Clara leaned forward against him, once more. It was starting to get late and the drama earlier had tired her out. She felt him pull her into his lap. Normally, she'd try to push him away, but she was too tired to care, now. Everything that happened today had taken a toll on her.

 _"Are you interested in anyone at school?"_

 _The fourteen year old shook her head. It wasn't so much that she wasn't interested, but that no one had been interested in the crazy girl, so she never bothered to even contemplate the notion that there would be someone for her._

 _"Anyone outside of school?"_

 _She shook her head, again._

 _"Boys don't interest you? Or girls?"_

 _She shrugged._

 _"Could it be because of your father?"_

 _She clenched her hands. "I don't want to talk about him."_

 _"_ Hey, I'm going to go give them a little scare. Be back in a bit. It'll have a more personal touch. Be sure to watch it."

She hummed in reply as he lifted her off him and settled her back down in the chair. As soon as the door closed, she fell back into a light sleep.

 _"Clara, you've been here for a year. You need to show some improvement or they'll send you back."_

 _She frowned. "I don't want to go back."_

 _"Then I'll need your cooperation. We need you to be well enough to live on your own when you turn eighteen. How many years is that? Three? You do want that, correct?"_

 _"I don't want to stay with them," she told Dr. Hill. "I can take care of myself. I don't need them… I'll find a job and… and…" She hadn't really planned that far ahead, yet. All she knew was that she didn't want to be there for another second. They were always too happy, too normal, too_ perfect _. "Can I go back to mum? I promise I won't cause any more trouble. I swear."_

 _Dr. Hill put his pen down and looked her in the eyes. "You know that's not possible. You'll have to stay here until you're better."_

 _"No! No! I want my mum!" Tears streamed down her eyes. Why were they keeping her from her mother? It wasn't fair! "Please! Let me go see her!"_

 _He sighed. "Have you been taking your medication, Clara? You know how important they are."_

 _"Please… Please…"_

A sudden scream jolted her awake. For a moment, she had forgotten where she was. Where was it coming from? She looked at the mountain of security monitors, bringing her back to her senses, but where did the scream come from? Hopefully, no one was hurt. Josh promised her that it was only going to be a scare. He promised.

Her eyes scanned through each of the screen until a group of three caught her attention. One showed Chris' face, which was the epitome of fear and panic. There was a lever in front of him. What it was for, she didn't know. The next screen showed Ashley who was tied to a makeshift wall. She was shouting at Chris and squirming around, trying to free herself.

Nothing made sense to Clara until she watched the last camera angle. It was positioned at the corner of the shed, showing off everyone and the spinning saw that was slowly making its way towards Ashley and… was that Josh?

What was going on?

A deep, unfamiliar and distorted voice was urging Chris to choose between Ashley and Josh. How could that be.? Weren't they the only ones in the lodge?

Clara could feel herself begin to panic, but she couldn't look away. Who was Chris going to choose? One was his best friend and the other was someone that he had a crush on. Who could be so cruel?

"Oh, I'm sorry, Ashley." Chris' whisper was full of remorse as he pulled the lever.

The brunette was shaking her head and babbling for him to save her. "No. No. Chris! No, don't do this! Chris!"

The saw continued to move straight, but it shifted to the right midway. It was heading towards Josh who was squirming fervently, shouting. "Why? Why?! Chris! No, buddy! Please, come on!"

"Oh, no…" Chris muttered. He was staring in horror as the saw steadily moved towards his friend.

Clara felt her heart stop when the saw began to rip through Josh. He screamed so loudly that it seemed to echo in her head. His eyes were bulging out and blood trickled from his mouth. His eyes rolled backward. The saw was relentless. It kept moving forward until Josh's lower body fell to the floor, completely separated from the rest of him. His intestine dangled from the top portion of his body. Blood had splattered everywhere. It was the most gruesome sight that she had ever seen.

Clara screamed in the room. Why? Why? Why? Did someone want Josh or Ashley dead? No, it had to be only Josh. She was sure that Chris had chosen correctly with the lever, so how could it have killed him instead? Her mind went blank.

Clara sat, staring at nothing. Josh was dead… Josh was dead… Tears silently streamed down her face. She thought that Josh was the only chance of normalcy that she had and now he was gone. Sure, he was a bit silly sometimes. A little perverted, yes. He had half-cocked plans that were bound to get him into trouble, but she never thought that… _that_ would happen to him.

"Oh, Josh…" She sobbed into her hands, desperately wishing that it was all just a nightmare. Maybe she had fallen asleep in her room after Josh gave her that stupid present or maybe he was still holding her right now, on this chair.

"I killed him. I killed him. I killed Josh," she heard Chris rant outside of the shed at Matt and Emily who were looking at the pair in confusion.

"What do you mean you killed him?" Emily asked.

"I mean, I – I … There was this psycho and he…" he couldn't finish explaining it.

Psycho… There was a killer on the loose – at the resort. The thought slowly sank in. There was a killer in the lodge and she was down here. Did anyone even know she was here?

What was she going to do? What was she going to do? She didn't want to be down here!

Suddenly, the sound of the door knob turning caught her attention. Who would possibly come in here?

Her heart was racing as she looked around for something to defend herself. There was nothing but the mountain of monitors, some old, broken computer screens and recording devices. The best thing there was a rusty screwdriver, which she quickly clutched in her hands.

Wait, the cage! The metal fence! Was it lock? Did Josh lock it before he left?

Yes. Yes, it was locked. As long as the murderer didn't have a gun, she might be alright.

She could see the silhouette of the psycho walking towards her. He was nearly completely shrouded in shadows. The only light came from the computer monitors and it showed the key in his gloved hands. No. No. No…

The lock clicked open.

In a last ditch effort of self-preservation, she lunged for the cage door to keep it closed, but just as she reached it, the intruder walked in. She let out a piercing scream when he grabbed her.

"No! Clara! Clara, it's me!"

She continued to scream until her brain caught up to what she was hearing.

What?

Her heart finally slowed back down when the familiar voice reached her, but she couldn't be sure who this person was. Close up, the mask on his face was frightening. It was bone white. Teeth and gum stuck out where the middle of the mask looked cracked. There was no nose – only an empty abyss. The eye holes were dark, but she caught sight of sharp, brown eyes when they caught the glint of the monitors. "Wha – How…?" No, it couldn't be. She ripped the mask off. "Josh?"

"What's wrong, Clara?" He looked confused as if her shock was unwarranted.

"I saw… I saw you die, Josh! You can't be here. You _can't!_ " She took a step back, continuing to look at him in disbelief. "You're not real, Josh… You're dead. You're just like her…"

"Clara, I'm alive," he tried to convince her, but she wasn't hearing any of it.

"You're not real… You're not real…"

The high that he had in tricking his friends had completely disappeared. He led her to the chair and rewound one of the tapes. "Look. See here? It's not a real body, Clara. It was expensive and well-made, but it's definitely not real. Here, I'm getting out now after they left." He saw that her eyes were trying to comprehend everything that she was seeing. "Can't believe they just left my body there…" he muttered as an afterthought.

When he fully turned to her, her eyes had glazed over once more. It was unnerving to see those wide and unblinking orbs that seemed to glow with the light coming from the monitors. He knelt in front of her with concern. "Clara – "

 _Slap!_

Josh's mouth fell open. His face stung.

"You, idiot!" she cried out. "Why didn't you tell me before you went and done something stupid like that? Don't you know that there are people who care about you?"

He flushed. "I told you to watch and I thought it'd be cooler if you saw it on the screen. You know, like a movie."

"I was asleep until someone was screaming bloody murder!" she exclaimed in annoyance. "You're going to give me a heart attack, one day."

"Sorry," he mumbled.

She sniffed. "No more, okay?"

He nodded.

"Good… I…" She squirmed around in the chair. "I need to quickly go to the toilet. Thanks for scaring all the liquids out of me."

Feeling the atmosphere alleviate, he flashed her a grin. "If you're lost, just give a shout. I'll come find you, even if you just somehow managed to get yourself stuck on the toilet."

With a glare and a whack to his arm, she was gone.

Josh stared after her. The grin had turned into a smile, but he was still worried that she was still angry at him. What if she went to tell the others of the prank? He couldn't allow that.

He looked contemplatively at the screens. She was definitely heading upstairs to the bathroom. Maybe he shouldn't be watching when she actually begins to strip, but he was bored.

He tried. He really did, but seconds after he looked away, his eyes automatically shifted back to the monitor. It was unfortunate that the camera was so far away or perhaps it was fortunate because he wasn't sure what he'd do to her when she came back. He couldn't make out many details, but he noted that she was a natural redhead.

He leaned forward.

Did Clara notice that there was a camera overlooking the bathroom?

He leaned forward a little more.

She looked really good without those thick clothes covering her up.

He leaned forward a little more and the chair rolled backward and he slipped off. With a curse, he picked himself up and saw that she had already disappeared. That was probably for the best. He shouldn't have been staring in the first place.

With that thought, he left the room.

He stalked the halls of the route where she would be returning. His imagination was going wild and not all of it was on the grand prank that he had initiated.

When half an hour passed, he really wondered the possibility that she had gotten lost. It wasn't unlikely, the winding halls in the basement were confusing in the dark, even to him.

…

Clara looked around. Had she been here before? It was dark and all the mannequins were startling her at every turn. At least she knew that there wasn't an actual psycho mass murderer in here. She still couldn't believe that Josh had that all planned out. How long did it take him? How many days had he spent holed up here?

 _Creak!_

She quickly turned around.

What was that?

There was nothing behind her.

She shook her head. It must've been her imagination after Josh gave her the scare.

 _Creak!_

Perhaps it was the old floor boards. Chris and Ashley ran out after seeing Josh's body being cut in half, so they probably won't be inside. Maybe… Was Josh still at the security room or had he wandered off to find her? Maybe it was Josh.

 _Creeeaak!_

Her heart raced. There was definitely someone or something here with her.

"J-Josh?" she whispered. "Is that you?"

 _Screeeeeech!_

Clara turned tail and ran.

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

There we go! Some of Josh and lots of Clara in this chapter. I found out that it's really, really difficult to write suspenseful scenes. Does anyone else have this problem or is it just me? Do you have any story recommendations that could help me with this? I keep having to write and rewrite them and I'm still not satisfied.

I noticed that quite a few of you liked the little chapter I did on Josh's point of view. I'll be sure to include more of those, but incorporated into longer chapters. Another thing are the flashbacks. I really enjoy writing those and I'm glad you like reading them. They give me more room for creativity.

 **Gabicpa** : Haha! It crossed my mind briefly. I was having trouble looking for a pretty name that's not over the top where it sounds like it came from a fantasy world, so a friend suggested "Clara." I hope other than the name, British nationality, and red hair that there is a Clara who's her own individual person (fictional person).

 **Eli** : It actually hadn't occurred to me to write anything about Josh's video of Sam bathing, but I thought it was an absolutely wonderful idea, so I just wrote something for it in a different chapter and I hope it's satisfactory.

Thank you to **meangirl8, bloomisakura, Dusk-deerfluff, VoldemortsBFF,** **gabicpa,** and Guest ( **Eli** ) for reviewing. You guys are awesome. I love hearing from you and all these fun things you guys imagine while reading my story.

Thank you to everyone who has favourited and followed this story as well.

I'd very much appreciate it if you'd leave a review with your thoughts, comments, or anything really.

 _Echo_


	6. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Clara raced blindly down the halls. Each step echoed in the winding corridors. Whatever was following her was getting closer. _Faster. Faster. Faster._

 _Screech!_

She clenched her eyes shut for only a moment and that was all it took for her to come crashing against something semi-hard.

Her eyes snapped open as the thing swung back and hit her. The cloth on it felt crusty with a musty scent. She thought it was a sack at first, but there were appendages attached to it and as her eyes tilted upward, what she saw drew a terrified scream from her.

There was a woman hanging from the ceiling. Her head was nearly severed from the body. Dried blood had soaked into the dark hair and the neckline of her grey night gown.

Clara stepped back just as the head splintered off and fell to the floor. "No… No…" The body followed with a _thump_. It was oddly positioned. The arms were twisted at a painful angle and the legs were in a kneeling position with the body pressed against the floor. It looked like something from The Exorcist.

 _Screech!_

Her heart felt as if it was going to burst out of her chest. She didn't have time to loiter around here and be scared.

With no other way to go, she jumped over the body. Her shaky legs nearly collapsed when she landed. She had to keep moving. She had to keep going. It was coming! It was coming!

She was panting heavily when she reached a form. To her left was a long straight path. To the right was a wardrobe that she hoped was empty for her to hide in. Her eyes lingered longingly at the cupboard, but she wasn't sure that it was empty. Taking the plunge, she ran to the left. She was so tired. There was no hiding now. None of the rooms had any doors. She saw that they were littered with mannequins and workbenches. Could she possibly disguise herself as one?

Her thoughts were cut short when she slipped and fell into a warm puddle. The coppery smell made her gag. She couldn't see anything but red. Half of her face was splattered with it. Her clothes were soaked and her hair began to drip. "No… No… No, no, no, no, no."

 _"Aren't you happy to be home?"_

 _She was ecstatic! It had been weeks since she last seen her mother. It was unfair that they were keep her mum and her apart. After all that she had been through, how could they do that to her?_

 _"Clara?" Nathan gave her a concerned look. "Are you alright? Tell me if it's too much, we can go – "_

 _"No!" she exclaimed. What did he know? He was only a stupid lawyer. All they wanted was money, money, money. She wasn't going to let them take her away anymore. Father was finally gone. They could have their happily ever after. Why are they still keeping them apart? "Mum! Mum, I'm home!" Where was she? Why hadn't she come out to welcome her own daughter? "Mum!"_

 _She began to look through every room._

 _"Clara, I'll just be waiting here' The words were lost to her. She was desperately looking for her mother. Perhaps she had gone out to cook her something nice? Mother was always such a fantastic cook._

 _"Mum!" She even looked into the small closets littered here and there. Nothing. "Mum! It's me, Clara!" She opened the bathroom door and felt as if her body wasn't quite her own anymore. There was no sound; no sensation – only the sight of red._

 _Mary Rose-Kennedy was slumped in the tub, bathing in red. The skin underwater was heavily wrinkled and it reeked. The stench was what had brought her out of her catatonic state._

 _Sound hit her all at once. She had been screaming so loudly that the contents in her stomach spewed out of her mouth. Or had it been because of the scent of rotting flesh?_

 _"Yes, there's a dead body in the house – Mary Eleanor Rose," Nathan spoke into his phone, while trying to keep Clara from choking on her own vomit. "No, she's dead. At least a couple of days." He wiped her mouth with a tissue and tried to shield her from the sight. It was wretched. "Her wrists… Yes, I can stay on the line."_

 _Nathan guided the thirteen year old on to the old, floral couch._

 _"No… why…?" she mumbled to herself, shaking her head. "Mum… Mum, I love you… Can we go for ice cream…?"_

 _Nathan kept his eyes on her. This wasn't good. Her mental state had taken a huge hit after the incident with her father. Only recently had she been declared well enough to come back here. What a mess…_

 _Clara was lost in her own mind. All she could see was her mother. Too young… Her mother had her when she was too young. She got married too young. She died too young. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. Gone. All she could see was the red drowning the body._

"Clara, that was awesome!" Josh came out of his hiding place with a large grin on his face. "That expression is priceless!" He stuck out a hand for her to take, but she remained motionless, staring at something that wasn't there. "Hey, I'm sorry about getting pig's blood all over you, but paint would've dried too quickly and you can really smell it when it's hot."

When she was still unresponsive, he knelt down. 'Clara, I'm sorry, okay?" As he tried to touch her, she shrank away. "It was only a joke!" Why couldn't she just take a joke? It was meant to be funny!

She shook her head. Tears were welling up in her eyes. "But why…? I've never done anything to you." Her lips were trembling. "How are you any better than they are? What does this revenge even mean to you? W-why? Why? Why?" She clutched her chest in pain. Her heart was racing. She couldn't breathe.

"Are you okay?" Josh was starting to become worried. Her face was flushed and her breath came out in shallow pants. She was scaring him. If anything happened, it'd take a while for any help to come. "Clara, don't' scare me like this. It's not funny. Stop!" This better not be her trying to get back at him. Sure, it hadn't been his best judgment to prank her when she hadn't actually done anything to him, but it made a great video!

She looked up at him with round, teary eyes. "Why…?"

He noticed how much it hurt her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry," he chanted. "I shouldn't have done that. I got carried away. I won't' do it, again. I promise." Her wide, grey eyes were fixated on him. "Let's go upstairs. I'll help you get out of your clothes," he joked, hoping to listen the mood, but she didn't say a word.

They slowly walked up the stairs and headed straight to the bathroom. She dragged her feet and looked to be lost somewhere. Josh kept his eyes on her, all the while feeling the guilt slowly consume him. This would probably be a video that he wasn't going to put on the internet. He didn't want Clara to hate him forever and he knew Dr. Hill would kill him for hurting her. It had been hard enough to convince him that he was well enough to take care of her. What would the good doctor say if he brought her back like this?

He even turned the taps on for her before going to retrieve her backpack from her room. When he returned, he stopped in his tracks to stare.

The camera had done her no justice. Her pale skin was accentuated by the moonlight, which casted an ethereal glow on her. He could make out a constellation of freckles on her back. Her gently swaying auburn hair was tempting him to caress that smooth, smooth skin.

He approached the spacious tub. The water was dark pink. Most of the blood had already washed off. She slid down, hiding her body under the bubbles when the floorboard creaked.

"Josh…" she greeted him after turning. Her face still had dried blood caked on it. She reminded him of a siren and he was her willing victim. At this moment, he'd do anything for her.

Clara observed him with wary eyes. It hadn't been her intention for him to see her naked. She thought he was going to leave her clothes outside. It made her uncomfortable knowing how vulnerable she was in her current state, but his eyes indicated how enamoured he seemed. All men were the same. "Why did you do it?" The warm water had relaxed her enough to allow coherent speech, again.

Josh looked down. "I got carried away. I thought of this idea and I just _had_ to do it." Everything was executed perfectly, right down to her theatrical fall. What he hadn't anticipated was her anger and hurt. They were supposed to share a laugh; maybe a bit of annoyance on her end, but not this.

He waited for her to respond, but she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. She told him to leave the room, while she finished washing up.

Josh was a mystery. She wasn't sure who he was anymore and she wondered if even he knew the answer to that.

Once she got dressed, she made her way out. Josh was sitting on the floor by the door with his head in his hands. When he noticed her presence, he quickly stood up. "Clara, I promise I'm going to stop. Just one more big finale, okay? No one's going to get hurt. No blood. Just one last performance. I swear."

"No, Josh," she argued. "This has to stop. What you're doing won't bring them back. Nothing. _Nothing_. Your sisters won't appreciate it and your friends are all you have. What are you trying to prove?"

He frowned. "I know it won't, but… I need to do this. For _me_. I need them to suffer like they have or I'll never be able to let it go. When I told you that this trip was about me getting closure, I wasn't lying. Don't take this away from me, Clara. Just one thing." He pulled her into his arms. "Go to the security room and wait for me there. It won't be like last time." He stepped away, giving her one last glance and was gone before she could say a word.

It wasn't that she had forgiven him for what he had done nor understood why he was doing this. No, a side of her was actually curious to know how this was all going to turn out. He promised that no one was going to get hurt and she wanted to see if he was going to lie to her.

She settled in the chair. He was still making his way over to Chris and Ashley who were talking amongst themselves. She wasn't going to just wait around idly, waiting for him to make a move.

Her eyes were suddenly drawn to the mouse. There had to be something that she could do here. She clicked around the main computer and found a few photos of his sisters. They looked so happy together. It was as if the pictures were there as a constant reminder for him.

Beside that folder was another one with camera footages. They were all a couple of hours long and there were hundreds of them. Most were of empty halls, while others had his friends in it. Suddenly, she squinted and scrolled back up when a certain thumbnail caught her eyes. Why were there cameras in the bathroom? What purpose did those serve?

Her face flushed as she recalled using the toilet and bathing there just recently. Surely, he hadn't looked and they were for true security reasons?

The next thumbnail also caught her attention. In fact, it riled her up. There was an image of Sam, naked in the bathtub. The picture was different from the rest. Clara clicked it, hoping that she was only over thinking this.

"Hey, exclusive footage here." Josh's voice was hushed. "This is going to be great!"

As he walked by the old grandfather clock, his reflection showed that he was in that ridiculous costume. He slowly opened the door, revealing the oblivious blonde, quietly nodding her head to the music that was coming from her earphones.

"Look at that gorgeous bod." The camera zoomed in and panned to the right.

Clara immediately closed the window. She couldn't watch it anymore. Her stomach turned with disgust and another feeling that she was well acquainted with – jealousy. When she was younger, she was jealous of all the other kids who had friends and parents who cared. Now, she could feel the same emotion rearing its ugly head. She wanted Josh to care about her in a way that she wondered if he ever could. It also forced forward the memories of her father, but she quickly pushed it away. He was the last person she wanted to think about.

She leaned back to clear her thoughts by watching Chris and Ashley's confused movements in the lodge. Every once in a while, she could see the glint of the scissors in the brunette's back pocket. On another screen, she saw Josh waiting for them with the mask over his face.

He quickly and efficiently knocked out Chris, then turned on Ashley who let out a terrified scream before plunging the scissors into his shoulder. He roared in pain. His hand instantly curled into a fist, ready to strike. Ashley turned to run, but Josh managed to reel his anger back in and pulled the mask over her face.

With both of his friends unconscious, he dragged them into another room. Two round saws were suspended above their heads.

Clara had a feeling that things weren't going to go the way he planned. If only he could see what she saw.

Mike and Sam were both quickly approaching the room. Where was Jess? Matt and Emily? Something didn't feel right.

She left the security room and hurried towards them. It was going to get messy. The sinking feeling in her stomach was nearly debilitating. Each step felt heavier than the next, but she had a definite destination and she was going to push through.

When the halls became unfamiliar, Clara tried to remember that path that Josh had taken from the cameras. This was incredible confusing. Hoping it wasn't too late, she finally ran into the room.

Mike was poised in front of Josh. The taller man's face was screwed into an expression of fury. "Jess is dead!" he roared.

"What?" Josh gave him a confused look.

Everyone else was horrified by the announcement. How did Jess die? Had Josh done it in his crusade for revenge?

"You fucking bastard!" Mike punched him in the face. "You sick _fuck_!"

"Wait, Mike, what do you mean Jess is dead?" Chris asked. His eyes were wide with shock.

"Yeah, I have no idea what you mean, man," Josh chimed in. His voice was slurred and his head swayed slightly. The punch must've done quite a bit of damage.

Mike bared his teeth at him. "Don't pretend you don't know."

Clara stepped forward. She couldn't recall seeing Jess at all in the cameras, but then again, she hadn't been paying too much attention on her. "Are you sure it was Josh who did it?"

"Yeah, are you sure?" Josh repeated, eager for someone to be on his side. She shot him an annoyed look, telling him to stay quiet.

Mike turned to glare at her. "Just because you make googly eyes at him, doesn't mean you should defend this murderer."

"Mike!" Sam scolded him. No one knew what was really going on. Mike was convinced that he had seen Jess die and Sam didn't doubt that that was what Mike believed, especially since the other blonde was currently missing, but they had no proof that Josh had done it. He seemed genuinely as confused as the rest of them.

"I'm just suggesting… Did you actually see his face?" Clara pushed on. "From what I could tell, Josh was with me when he wasn't going all this." She gestured to the room.

"What? So you're in on it?" Mike's anger was almost tangible and she didn't want it on her.

"That's not what I said." It was frustrating trying to reason with an irrational person. "If you want proof, I can give it to you. Just follow – "

"No, I'm not following you anywhere." Mike pointed to her. "Who are you even? This nutcase suddenly bring a friend and suddenly all this!" He tied Josh's hands behind his back. "You're lucky that I don't hit women."

"I didn't kill Jess, Mike!" Josh continued to protest. "Chris, you believe me, don't you?" His friend looked away, sour that he had made them go through all the horror. "Sam? You know I would never hurt you guys."

Sam didn't deny that Josh had conducted an elaborate plan to get back at them, but she truly didn't think he was capable of killing anyone. However, it still hurt to know that he had kidnapped her even though she wasn't part of what happened a year ago. "I thought you said you were glad that… that I was here, Josh," she couldn't keep the words in no matter how hard she tried.

The blonde never told anyone, but she had a huge crush on him back then and for a while, she thought he felt the same. When he brought Clara to the lodge, she was disappointed, but he told her he was glad that she came. Had this been the only reason why?

"Clara. Clara, come on. You believe me! I'd never lie to you! You've seen everything!" Josh begged.

The redhead had her eyes fixated on Sam before looking at him. "No, Josh. Maybe you _did_ kill Jess."

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

Oooh the reception for the last chapter has been the worst I've had thus far, at least in terms of reviews. Was there something that I could change to make it better? Any suggestions is appreciated.

Adding to that, I'm quite worried about this chapter. This is basically the turning point, both regarding the canon plot and my character. I hope the flashbacks haven't been too confusing so far.

Aside from that, I'd love to thank my wonderful reviewers: **Dusk-deerfluff, Lilygirl95, meangirl8.**

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story.

 _Echo_


	7. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

Josh couldn't believe what was happening. This wasn't how it was supposed to go! His friends were going to be angry for the rest of the night, laugh it off, and then bathe in the fame of being an internet sensation!

Couldn't they take a fuckin' joke? It was all fun and haha. Why did they have to be so serious? Did he go off and exile those fuckers who got Hannah and Beth killed? Because fuck them. He deserved to see them suffer, scared, and humiliated. He _deserved it_! Hannah and Beth deserved to see them quivering and piss their pants, but they couldn't, could they? No! Because they were fucking _dead_!

What the fuck was Mike even talking about? Jess dead? He hadn't even gone off to see them, yet! He was going to reveal himself and have Chris, Sam, and Ashley help him with the pranks. Fuck, his face hurt… Why did Mike have to hit him so hard?

He looked over to the redhead who was trailing behind Mike and his supposedly best friend, Chris. He couldn't read her. It was as if she had become a completely different person. He thought she was going to help him, but now she was helping them exile him.

The pain in his chest confused him. Mike didn't catch him there, did he? Why did it ache?

He glanced at her, again. It only hurt more. He missed the way she used to look at him before he… Before he stupidly decided to scare her off. This just wasn't his day, was it? He couldn't do anything right.

"You never could, Josh." He clenched his eyes shut. Hannah was dead. Hannah was dead. She wasn't standing in front of him. "Did you think playing around with your _friends_ was going to make me happy? It's better that the bitch, Jess, is dead." He shook his head. She's not real. She's not real.

Mike gave him a rough push to the back, snapping him from his delusions.

"Come on, man!" Josh protested, walking backwards with a gun trained on him. "It was just a joke!" Where did they even find the gun?

"No!" Mike growled. "Move! Jess is fucking dead because of you!" In anger, Mike backhanded him with the handgun. Josh immediately fell to his knees in pain.

"Mike, he's not well. He's _sick_ ," Chris tried to reason. It was true that Josh's prank had gotten out of hand, but neither he nor Ashley were hurt. He wanted to be hopeful that Josh would never kill Jess, even if he blamed her for Hannah and Beth's deaths.

"No, man." Mike pushed Josh down to his stomach and pressed the gun against the back of his head. Josh groaned in pain as a sharp knee dug into his spine. "Oh, does that _hurt_?"

"Mike, stop." Clara put a hand on his shoulder, which he instantly brushed off. "This isn't helping anything." She felt startlingly calm. "Josh said he didn't kill Jess and I think he really believes that. Let's quickly get out of the cold and then we'll discuss more, alright?"

He ground his teeth together before getting off the whining man. He pulled Josh to his feet and pushed him into the shed.

"Come on, man. You can't leave a guy hanging like this!"

Clara watched him protest and fight for leniency. It was tragic. If only he had just listened to her. None of this would be happening.

"You can't tie tightly if I just… wiggle, wiggle, wiggle!" Josh fidgeted around while Mike and Chris were tying his hands behind him around the wooden support beam. "Ow! Not so tight! Leave a guy some wiggle room, will ya?"

It was a pitiful sight. Josh in the office wasn't quite right in the head, but this was something else entirely. What would Dr. Hill say? "Mike, he's not well."

"I don't care if he's about to fucking die! I think it'd be poetic justice. He killed Jess. I blow his fucking head off!"

"You know, I think I have a problem," Josh interrupted. "I mean, if I killed Jess, don't ya think I'd… remember that?"

Clara could almost map out where Josh had been since they arrived. They only times they were apart were when she locked himself in the room, when she went to the bathroom, and when she dozed for a short moment. None seemed to give him enough time to kill Jess or even make it all the way to the guest cabin and back. In fact, neither Mike nor Jess were victims of the prank, thus far. The only people involved were Chris, Ashley, and Sam. It was odd that Josh was exacting revenge to the three people that Clara could only assume had the least to do with the year-old incident. What Josh had been thinking, she didn't know. If it was her, she'd start with the two who were the root of the problem.

"Come on, man." Chris pulled Mike away from Josh. "Let's get back to the girls."

Mike let out a string of courses before finally backing down. There wasn't much more he could do short of murder at the moment, but immediately after they leave the mountain, Mike was going to make sure that he'd have the psychopath behind bars.

"May I have a private word with him first?" Clara finally spoke up.

She had been oddly quiet the entire time. Mike wondered if she was going to take the opportunity to free Josh, but Chris managed to convince him otherwise. He gave her a warning look, which she ignored, before walking out of the shed.

"Clara. Clara. Clara," Josh repeated over and over, again. "I didn't kill Jess. _I_ _swear_."

She didn't reply, merely looked down at him. It was strange. He had always been the taller one. Now, he looked so small.

"Clara, _please_ ," he begged. He needed her to believe him. If no one else, he couldn't have her give up on him.

She crouched down in front of him. "I know, Josh. I know you didn't kill Jess."

"Then get me out of here!" He tried to bounce in his seat.

"I told you this was a bad idea, Josh." She looked around. "Did you tell Dr. Hill about it? I'm sure he would've told you that it was a bad idea, too."

"He did…" he mumbled, recalling the countless texts he had received since arriving here.

She shook her head and headed to a first aid kit at the back of the shed. Josh's fake body was peeking out from behind a wooden shelf. It was odd walking past the thing. The scent of old pig's blood was putrid.

When she returned, she had a roll of bandages in one hand and a bottle of peroxide in another. She unhooked the overalls trap on his left shoulder and tugged the collar down.

"Ow!" He tried to squirm away from her hands.

The wound was deep, but the opening was small. It had become a deep, reddish purple. The blood must've bruised in the cold. At least it didn't look as if any infections were going to settle in, but that didn't mean it wouldn't happen later on.

She uncapped the peroxide bottle and poured it into the wound. His shout of pain hurt her ears.

"It hurts!" he whined. "Clara, stooop!"

"Stay still," she scolded him. It was hard enough without him fighting her.

He stopped moving, but continued to whine and make faces at her.

Once she was satisfied with the cleaning, she unravelled the bandages and tediously began to wrap his shoulder. It was difficult with his hands tied behind the pole.

The shed was silent until a thought came to her. "What did you use to make those sounds?"

Josh frowned. "What sounds?" His screams of pain?

"The ones that chased me down the hall. It couldn't be human. What made it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't do it," he said, shaking his head. "It wasn't me."

Clara looked at him in the eyes before nodding. He was telling the truth, but then, what had been following her?

Once she was done, she shifted his clothes back into place and stepped away.

"Clara…?" He looked at her like a lost child. "Where are you going? Don't leave. Stay with me." He tried to bounce his chair towards her, but it was impossible. "Come on, we can stay here and make out! We'll have our privacy here. No one would be able to hear any strange noises. Yeah?" He waggled his eyebrows at her, but at the stoic expression, his face fell. "Clara! Don't leave me! Don't leave me!" Why was she doing this to him?

"Goodbye, Josh."

 _"Shut up, you stupid bitch!"_

 _Plates crashed on to the floor – plates that they couldn't afford to replace. The cries of her mother spiked when one of the shards sliced her leg._

 _When had her family started falling apart?_

 _"You want to know what I do on my trips? I find a hot Canadian woman – a_ real _woman – and I_ fuck _her," he spat. "I_ fuck _her and I enjoy it. Melinda's not a fuckin' coldfish like you."_

 _"I'm sorry…" her mother sobbed. "I'm sorry…" She always apologised even though it wasn't her fault._

 _"Sorry?_ You're _sorry?"_

 _Clara huddled in her room, trying to shut out all the noise._

The walk back to the lodge was solemn. Mike continued to brood and cuss out Josh, while Chris seemed heartbroken that his best friend had betrayed him. Clara hadn't spoken a single word to either of them since they left Josh alone. She wasn't happy with the ways things had turned out. Josh being tied up was highly unfortunate. She didn't expect his friends to exile him. She preferred to have him closer. Who knows what could happen?

The longer she spent here, the worse this day became. She'd have to go see Dr. Hill and hear him chastise her about her decisions. Yes, she was wrong. Yes, she regret coming here. Yes, she should've listened to him, but now that she was here, there was something she wanted to do first. The temptation had been nagging at the back of her mind since she fell asleep on Josh in the security room.

"Hey, guys." When she returned to the lodge, she could see the look of pity that the girls were giving her. They had no idea what she was feeling. Aside from their initial acts of sympathy, however, they were quick to express their relief once everyone had settled on the couches.

"I still can't believe that Josh would do something like this," Sam was the first to speak up about the situation.

Ashley looked down. "I really thought he had forgiven us for what happened. I never thought he would do something like this."

"The bastard actually thought that he could get away with killing Jess." Mike angrily kicked the coffee table.

Chris sighed. The indecision was clear on his face. "I still think that something else is up. I mean, yeah, Josh played this messed up prank on us, but do any of you really think that he would kill Jess?"

"He's out of his fucking mind!" Mike huffed. "Who knows what the fuck he really would do? Who knows what else he would've done if we didn't stop him?"

Sam frowned. It was difficult to get over the betrayal, but she really wanted to believe that he hadn't done anything to Jess. Sure, he had called her a couple of times during the summer, complaining about what the other blonde had done to his family, but this was _Josh_. They leaned on each other when Hannah and Beth disappeared. He was their friend.

The blonde looked over to Clara who had remained silent the entire time. She knew for a fact that Josh really liked her. It must've been so hard for her, now, especially when Mike still thought that she had something to do with Jess, as well. "Hey, how are you feeling?" she whispered to Clara, while the others continued to discuss about what they should do next.

"I'm alright, Sam." There was a robotic quality to her voice.

"If you need to talk, I'm here," Sam offered. It must've been difficult being the new girl. They never had a chance to really become acquainted with her and now she was in a room full of strangers, while her only friend was tied up somewhere.

Clara nodded. "I kn – "

 _Bang! Bang!_

The sound of someone or something knocking frantically echoed inside the lodge. Everyone turned to see that the door was shuddering from the force and urgency.

"Help! Please‼"

The familiar voice immediately had everyone on their feet.

"Emily!" Sam exclaimed, moving towards the door, but Chris was already pulling the door open and Asian woman stumbled in.

Emily shouted for Chris to close the door before collapsing on the couch between Sam and Ashley. "There's a monster out there. Oh, my God!" She was a babbling mess of nonsense.

"It's okay," Sam reassured her. "It was Josh. It was all Josh."

"No!" Emily shouted in protest. "That thing out there, it's not human. Oh, my God. Oh, my God…"

"Em, where's Matt?" Chris asked her. They had gone out together, after Josh had supposedly died, and went to look for help. Why did she return alone?

Emily shook her head. "I don't know. I don't know. Matt… What if it got him? Oh, God, Matt!

"What happened?" Sam probed her, hoping to understand why the brunette was hysterical. If it was dangerous, they all needed to know.

"Matt and I went to the Fire Tower for help and I was able to get through to someone, but then the tower collapsed and I into the mines. I don't' know where Matt is, but… but I found Beth's head." Her words brought shocked gasps from her friends before they all waited with bated breath for her to continue. "And… I don't think Hannah died there. At least, not at first. She must've been alone, cold, and starving." She sobbed as the gravity of what their prank had done to the two girls. It was horrible. It was something she wish she never knew.

Mike stepped forward to embrace her. "Em, it's okay. It was Josh. You're just still confused, okay?"

Not knowing how else to convince them otherwise, Emily merely nodded, but she knew it wasn't Josh. She saw the creature with her very own eyes.

Clara bit her lips. A monster… She thought back to the thing chasing her in the basement. Josh said he hadn't done it and she believed him, but she hadn't caught a glimpse of what it could be. All she remembered was how terrified just the sound had made her. She didn't want to see it.

Suddenly, another succession of rapping caught their attention. They all looked at each other. Unless Josh had miraculously untied himself, it could be anyone or anything.

Chris positioned himself in front of the door with a gun in his hand, while Mike was ready to open it, poised with a bat. They looked at each other. Mike flung it open to reveal a stranger, oddly dressed. The face was completely covered up by a cloth and thick goggles shielded the eyes. From the body structure, however, suggested that this was a man.

Clara frowned. Who was he? She thought that they were the only ones up here, but perhaps that was only mere ignorance. There was bound to be more on such a large piece of land.

"Close the door and stand back," the Stranger demanded.

Not knowing what else to do, they all complied.

"Now, all of you are in great danger. There is a curse on these ancient burial grounds that the last mining expedition unleashed." He didn't wait for anyone to understand what he was talking about. "Anyone who resorted to cannibalism would turn into these terrible creatures called the Wendigo. That night – one year ago – I had been chasing one of such creatures, but it was chasing two others. I tried to help them, but I wasn't fast enough before they fell down the cliff." The Stranger's story shocked everyone. Wendigo? They couldn't possibly be real. They were just stories to scare young children, weren't they? "Is there somewhere safe you kids can hide in until dawn arrives?"

"The basement," Sam suggested. There was a murmur of agreements.

Clara hesitated. The basement was where she had heard the creature, but the security room seemed safe enough with its metal fencing. They could probably stay there.

Before they all field down, Clara spoke up. "What about Josh?"

"Oh, shit!" Mike cursed. "We left him in the shed."

"It's too late, now. Your friend is probably gone," the Stranger told them. "A lot can happen in a few minutes when you're on these mountains."

No, Clara wasn't willing to accept that and it seemed that neither was Chris.

"I'm going to find him," Chris protested. "He's my best friend and I've failed him. I'm not going to leave him to die, now."

Emily bit her lips. "The mines," she suggested. "That's where I saw all the bodies. If it took him, then he'd be at the mines."

That made sense. No one had ever seen many bodies casually splayed around the mountains, so the Wendigo must've brought them elsewhere. Not only that, it seemed that the police never searched down there for the two sisters' bodies. That was probably why no one ever knew about the Wendigo.

The Stranger looked annoyed and the frown only grew as Clara demanded to follow Chris. Having one person along was already dangerous enough, but two youngsters?

Clara was adamant. There was also regret settling in her stomach. She should never have left him out of her sight. She was going to have the satisfaction of finding him and nothing was going to get in her way. _Nothing_.

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

This chapter was pretty difficult to write. I wanted to say so much, but I didn't want to rush through everything. I really want this story to last as long as I can without making it too boring. I'll have more Clara in the next one, I promise. A _lot_ more. The next chapter is going to be mental! I hope it wouldn't detour anyone from reading it.

Are there any guesses what's happening – other than the canon plot, of course? Hint: It's mainly revolving around Clara and Josh.

Thank you everyone who has reviewed the previous chapter: **Dusk-deerfluff, Atsirk Enoh, Solleo93, gabicpa,** and Guest( **OptimisticTheory** ).

And thank you as well to all of you who has favourited and followed this story.

You guys have been so wonderful. Sometimes, I just get really insecure whether what I'm writing is any good and it's people like you who pushes me through to keep writing.

Oh! And I finally have a story cover for this. It's not very original, all I did was replace the skull with Josh's mask and put in a silhouette of Clara. I hope it's sufficient enough.

Please, leave a review. Thanks!

 _Echo_


	8. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN**

Going back into the cold was terrible. She hadn't had the opportunity to get into anything warmer after taking the bath. She was only in a red, knitted jumper and black jeans. Her hair was still damp and seemed to form small icicles at the tips of each tendril. The only thing driving her forward was the strong desire to get to him. There was no other option for her. She was going to find him no matter what.

The Stranger told them to be prepared as they neared the shed. The likelihood was that the Wendigo had already gotten to him and Clara was already forming plans in her head.

She watched as Chris pulled the door and froze at the sight. She squeezed passed him. It was gory. Where Josh had been, now only laid a tipped over stool, torn pieces of hemp rope, and a large puddle of blood.

She stumbled over to the support beam. When he told him that he had not been the one chasing her in the halls, she should never have let him out of her sight. She could feel the frustration threatening to consume her.

"We have to go, now," the Stranger ordered.

Chris had a hand on her shoulder and gently guided her away from the shed. "What happened? Did it just… eat him?" he asked the Stranger who scoffed.

"You wouldn't be so lucky if they find you. They paralyse you and then skin you alive. Slowly, they'll devour each of your organs. They keep you alive so that your organs with remain fresh."

Chris blanched at the thought. Even if they found Josh, it could already be too late for him – not because he was dead, but because he was in a state that he probably wished that he was dead.

Clara, however, had her thoughts in overdrive. Josh was still alive. Josh was still alive. She could think of nothing else, not even when the Stranger shouted for them to run, but run she did. She raced away from Chris who was calling out to her in confusion.

The mines. She needed to get to be there, but how? Mike said Jess died in the mines and Emily said that she had fallen from the Fire Tower and into the shafts. She had no idea how Mike ended up there, but there had to be a trail from the guest cabin. It was much easier getting there than up the top of the mountain to a destroyed land mark that she could no longer see.

As she hiked through the snow, she chuckled at Dr. Hill's voice singing in her head. Oh, the things he'd say to her if he knew.

 _"Don't do it, Clara. I know that you're hurt, but this is not the way to do it." He'd put his elbow on the mahogany desk and rested his chin on the back of his clasped hands. "Revenge solves nothing."_

 _She shook her head. "It's only because you don't understand,_ doctor _. You don't know what it feels like to be oppressed all your life. You don't know what it's like to listen to your mother cry every night. It rips through you and burns a scar in your heart. It hurts._ It hurts _."_

The thoughts began to distort and bleed into something that felt more like a memory.

 _The fifteen year old had such an anguished look on her face that it was hard even for him to watch. There was a reason why he had taken the case. It hit close to home for him. His own sister had an abusive husband and ended up in the hospital several times – not only from the physical assaults, but also for her attempted suicides. That was why he decided to take Clara under his wings. Her mother killed herself and her father had beat her. The police were useless in these situations. What she needed was a new insight to life. The only problem was that she was fighting him every step of the way. Until he could break through that stubborn exterior, there was nothing he could do but keep talking and persisting._

 _"Why don't you lay down on the couch?" He gestured to the black leather furniture that looked out of place alongside all the other wooden fixtures._

 _Obediently, she plopped on to the squeaky leather. She hated how it smelled and she hated that he thought he could_ fix _her._

 _"Close your eyes and relax. You know how this works. I need you to open up to me – willingly. At anytime, we can stop, alright?"_

 _She closed her eyes and got comfortable. This was never going to work. Hypnosis was a joke._

 _"I need you to believe, Clara," he told her. "Listen to my voice and follow me."_

 _His voice was actually very soothing, but she had no intentions of reliving her past. She was finally free from it. Why would there ever be a time that she needed to make herself go through It again?_

Her feet slipped and she fell face first into the snow. Her cold form trembled violently as she tried to get back up. She needed to keep pushing on. Just keep moving. Just keep moving. There was no giving up, now. She could see the guest cabin.

The window on the front door was smashed in. The fallen shards of glass was tipped with blood. Jess must've been taken from here.

Clara pulled the door open and immediately made her way to the dying flames in the fireplace. She found a blanket on the couch to wrap it around herself and plopped down on the plush rug. She had to keep warm and recuperate before going on. The tips of her fingers and toes had already gone numb. During her fall, she had somehow managed to get snow into her boots and soaked her socks.

She looked around the cabin. Both Mike's and Jess' bags were here. Surely, they'd have something she could use.

The first bag was stuffed with male clothing that was far too big for her, but she managed to find a compass and a small flashlight. The ray of light was dim, but had a large range. Good enough.

Next, she searched through Jess' bags. She had several – the biggest was full of clothes. It seemed that the blonde was a size smaller than her, but it'd have to do. She'd rather wear tight clothes than uncomfortably cold ones.

She quickly changed out of her wet clothes and made sure that she was warm enough to brave the cold, once more, but nothing could prepare her for the blast of icy wind that hit her face. The warmth of the fire had made her complacent. It was like trying to pick up running again after stopping for too long. The cold hit her hard. It was unforgiving.

Clearing her head of doubts that were quickly swimming around, she took her first step, then another, and another. Once she found her rhythm, it wasn't so bad anymore. Mike had left frozen tracks in the snow. She could also see where Jess had been dragged away. From the third set of footprints, Clara was shocked that Mike couldn't tell how inhuman they looked. Not only did it show that the kidnapper was barefooted, the toes were long and elongated. The tips ended in points like claws. It definitely looked dangerous.

When the Stranger told them to run, she hadn't caught sight of the creature. She didn't like knowing what she should be on the lookout for. What she did notice, however, was the telltale shrieks – the same sound that had echoed in the basement of the lodge. It could still be there were the others were mindlessly thinking that they were safe or perhaps it had left during the moment of confusion.

Had it been any other time, she may have gone back to warn them. As it were, however, she only had her eyes on one person.

Eventually, the footprints disappeared down a small cliff. Just as she was about to jump down, a loud screech filled the air. The sound was painfully vibrating her eardrums. It was coming from her left and it sounded close by. Did that mean she was close to the mines or had one of them just wandered off?

She left off the edge and pressed her back against the cold, jagged rocks behind her. There was a small overhang that she hoped would hide her from the Wendigo.

She could hear its feet crunched heavily into the snow. It stopped somewhere about her and began to noisily sniff around. Did it know she was there? All she could do was stay perfectly still and hoped that it would go away.

Unfortunately, it jumped down and landed inches away from her. She sucked in a breath, only just managing not to scream. She held the cold air in in an effort to keep it from noticing her. How good was its hearing or eye sight? Would it able to pick up how loudly her heart was pounding in her chest or the rush of blood that was pumping to her core?

It turned its head to the left, then to the right. It knew that something was here. The predator was about to pounce on its prey.

 _Ba-dump. Ba-dump._

Slowly, it turned around and stared straight in her direction. Her heart felt as if it was going to burst from her chest. The lips were peeled back, revealing its long, sharp, pointed teeth.

She clenched her eyes shut. It was going to eat her! The only hope she had was that its milky eyes signified a sort of sight deficiency.

Each passing second felt like an hour as she tried to blend into the wall. Her muscles were so stiff that they were staring to tremble from the sheer effort.

 _Chirp!_

Its head snapped upward where a bluebird was trying to quickly fly away. The Wendigo roared and leapt back up to chase after the fluttering animal.

Clara still couldn't bring herself to move, even when it was out of sight. She waited until the screeches disappeared into the far distance before quickly and quietly continuing on her way. She hoped that the delays and detours hadn't taken as much time as she feared. By now, Josh could be strung up to the ceiling, completely skinless and missing parts, for all she knew.

Her shoes hurried crunched through the snow. They continued to quicken when she saw the footsteps disappear into a building. She was excited to get out of the cold.

The interior of this wooden building was not even comparable to the majestical lodge that they were going to stay in. The walls with peeling paint had rusty nails poking out. The furniture looked broken and abused. There was an old musky smell that was almost overwhelmingly wretched.

She walked down the creaky stairs before finally finding the mine's entrance. There was a lopsided sign that read 'Keep Out.'

"Josh?" Her voice echoed in the mining shaft. This was very well be another long and tedious trek.

 _"It's your fault!" The sound of flesh hitting flesh resounded through the house. "You told him, didn't you?"_

 _"No! No!" her mother sobbed. She was curled up in a corner against the oven and kitchen sink. Her arms were positioned in front of her face, in a futile attempt to protect herself._

 _Clara stood behind her door, peeking at the fight. Father was angry, again. He was always angry. Mother was the main recipient of his abuse, but there were always bruises littering her own arms._

 _"Fuckin' bitch!" he spat at her. "This is your fault that I've lost my job." He grumbled incoherently to himself before taking a swig from his bottle. "Bastard thinks he could freeze me out? Well, his wife would always think of_ me _." A loud belch burst from his lips. He sneered at the cowering woman. "Get the house deed. We'll have to sell this bloody house, now. Is this what you wanted?"_

 _Mary shook her head. There was no more energy in her to keep fighting. She was so tired, but she had to stay strong. She looked at her daughter's door. It broke her heart knowing that her thirteen-year old was always watching with wide, frightened eyes. There was nothing more that she wanted than to give her Clara a good life and this wasn't it. This man in front of her wasn't the father who loved them unconditionally. What happened to them?_

 _Once her father left, Clara ran out. Her mother's right shoulder looked dislocated and her face was heavily swollen from the bruises. Clara gently helped her up the stairs and tended to the wounds. This was the same ritual they went through whenever her father came home with a bottle, sometimes even without. At times, it was better that he stayed in Canada to be with his whore._

 _"I'm sorry, baby," her mother would always say. "I love you so much, but I don't know what to do."_

 _The same excuse. Clara had begged her to leave him many instances before. Each time, it was shot down because of their financial issues. It had been too intertwined, but now, it didn't even matter anymore. They were going to have to sell the house because Brad just lost his job._

 _Melinda's husband had found out about the affair. He was furious. No one expected his influence to travel all the way across the vast ocean, but it did and it hit Clara's family hard._

 _With Brad's job gone and Mary missing work, again, money was scarce. Clara feared for their future. All she wanted was to be away from here. "Mum, we'll be okay," she reassured her battered mother. "I'll figure something out." She snuggled into her arms. Her ear was pressed against her mother's chest. The rhythmic heartbeat was calming. "I love you, mum."_

 _"I love you, too, baby."_

 _Clara sighed. She was going to save them. Her mother was going to smile, again. Everything was going to be fine. It'd be fantastic! She couldn't wait to see her mother's face._

 _She slipped out of her mother's warm embrace and quietly padded down the stairs. Her room felt cold when she entered. She must've left the window open because the rain had soaked through everything on her desk. Assignment books stuck together and the loose-leaf sheets were scattered on the plush red carpet. The wind had also knocked the photo frame down. She picked it up and smiled. Her mother and her looked so happy here._

 _It was Christmas Day, three years ago. Her father had gone away again and they spent the entire day relaxing – baking, movies, games. It was great. It was also the last winter that her mother ever smiled like that, again._

 _Clara turned the frame over to pull away the backing. There was a smaller photo of her parents' wedding. Mother was already pregnant here with her, but they looked so perfectly happy together. Clara was told that they had been the power couple in high school. Mother was the student council president and he was going to be the next David Beckham. When they married, the church was full of all their friends and family. Everyone had such great hope in them. What happened?_

 _A single tear fell on to the photograph. This was the family that she always wanted. This was the happily-ever-after her mother had told her about and it was only a fairy tale – never meant to be reality._

Bang!

 _She dropped the photo back on to the desk. The frame landed with a quiet splash on to the small puddle._

 _Clara walked out of the her room, watching her drunk father stumble around, knocking things over._

 _"Good evening, father."_

 _He brushed by without noticing her._

 _She clenched her hands. The steak knife that they were got to use clutched tightly in her grasp. He wasn't going to hurt anyone anymore. The hatred for him was burning inside her as everything that he had done consumed her thoughts._

 _She took a step forward and plunged the blade into his back. The serrated edge tug and fought her every step of the way, but she was determined. That hatred was burning so hot, it was scorching._

 _Brad let out a strangled cry that met deaf ears. When she pulled the knife back out, he fell heavily to the side, crashing into the white, marble counter. He laid on his back, dazed. Before his inebriated brain had fully register the assault, she was on him._

 _The blade embedded itself into his chest. Blood bubbled out of his mouth and poured down the sides of his face. She pulled back and plunged, again. This time, the knife was met with a hard resistance. It frustrated her._

 _No, she wasn't done, yet. If she stopped, they would never find any peace._

 _Pulling the knife out and holding it as far above her head as she could, she put all her strength into it. There was a sickening crack before the blade slammed all the way down and through his back._

 _His arms flailed around, catching her in the right cheekbone. She let out an animalistic growl before continuing to stab. Stab._ _ **Stab.**_

 _Again. Again. Again. Again. Again._

 _She could only hear her own blood pumping in her ears._

 _Stab. Stab._

 _Die. Die. Die._

 _It hadn't even registered how loudly she had been wailing until a stifled scream sounded from behind her. She turned her head and saw her mother staring at her with wide, horrified eyes._

 _"Mum… He's not going to hurt us anymore." She grinned at her mother. The warm blood that had splattered all over her face, dripped down. It had soaked into her hair and clothes. "We can finally be happy, now."_

 _Mary shook at the sight of her beautiful daughter coated in her husband's blood. There was a pool of dark red around them. The white marble was painted red._

 _Clara watched as her mother fall to the floor._

 _"Mum?"_

 _There was no reply._

 _Concerned, she moved away from the motionless body and crawled over to her mother. She painted a trail of blood behind her. Her hand left a red stain on her mother's night gown. "I'm tired too, mum." She curled up and pressed herself to her mother's side. "Good night."_

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

So that's Clara. Not the story, but Clara and her past – at least the majority of it. Was this predictable? Did anyone expect it?

The next chapter will also be a flashback. Should I have it in full italics or normal found, but specified that it's a flashback? I don't know how many of you like or dislike large chunks of italicised writing.

Thank you to **Dusk-deerfluff** and **meangirl8** for leaving your reviews. It was a bit depressing seeing only two alerts, but heartening to know I still have people reading and wanting more of this. Thank you so, so much.

Thank you as well to the people who have favourited and followed this story.

I've also been brainstorming with a friend on the title. I don't know if I've mentioned it, but I really don't like it. I have a few that's peeked my interest. Perhaps you guys can help me pick one? The options so far are:

\- Clara

\- Retribution

\- Point of Emaciation

\- Other suggestions?

I'm most likely also going to tweak the summary a little as well.

If you see a title you don't recognise - don't fret - just click the link from your alert. I don't want to lose you guys because I decided to change the title.

I look forward to hearing from you.

 _Echo_


	9. Chapter 8

**IMPORTANT A/N: I will be changing this story's title to:** _ **Point of Emaciation**_ **.**

 **I don't want there to be any confusion, so this title will be changed when I post Chapter Nine, instead of immediately.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER EIGHT**

 _September 5th, 2009_

The police arrived to the Rose-Kennedy residence, expecting a typical noise complaint from stingy neighbours. From outside, they heard nothing and decided to drive away when Officer Sullivan spotted someone shouting and waving their arms beside the house.

He slipped out of the car and met the concerned neighbour midway. "What's the problem, ma'am?"

"Thank goodness, you're here!" she exclaimed. "I heard screaming! I thought it was just kids being kids, you know? B-but… I don't think it's…" She started to nervously wring her hands. "Please, you have to check inside! Brad is always a little… you know… I worry for the mother and child."

Sullivan nodded before signalling his partner. They marched to the doorsteps and knocked.

There was no reply.

"Ma'am? Sir?" Sullivan walked around the perimeter. The kitchen lights were peeking through the closed blinds, but he couldn't see anything. He radioed the station. Drastic measure had to be taken if there was heavy suspicion that someone was injured.

Once he received the 10-4, he rammed his shoulder against the door.

Even without the neighbour, he knew this family's history. Numerous domestic violence calls were made here – not from the mother, but by other concerned friends and passersby. He had been the one to talk to the residence. Each time, he had to be the one to warn them, but nothing was ever done. If anything had happened to the mother and child, he would never be able to forgive himself. These were the cases that he hated the most. It was evident that something had to be done, but nothing ever was. The justice system was heavily flawed.

He stumbled into the house after the fourth hit. The entire house was quiet and only one room seemed to be illuminated. He slowly walked in, gun in hand and pointed downward. He hoped that he wouldn't have to use it, but circumstances could change everything.

What he saw, however, was something that he would never forget. Two forms were unconscious at the foot of the stairs. The child was covered in blood from head to toe, leaving him to assume the worst. He rushed over to them, but stopped as he saw what was on the other side of the white marble island.

A larger body was splayed in a puddle of blood. His eyes were still open, staring unblinkingly up at the ceiling. There were numerous stab wounds all over his body, but the most gruesome wound was concentrated to the left of the chest where it looked as if there was a fist-sized hole. The torn flesh was still stuck to the serrated steak knife by the body.

Sullivan had to tear his eyes away from the sight and looked at the other two. They looked so peaceful despite what had happened. His instinct was telling him what much have occurred, but his brain couldn't even compute the possibility. A child?

"Yes, we found one dead and two unconscious," his partner, Harris, spoke to the radio. Harris crouched down to check the child, but as soon as he touched her, she started to flail around. "Sh… Sh… It's alright. We're not here to hurt you."

The girl looked at him with wide-grey orbs.

"Are you alright, sweetheart? Did you see who did this? What happened here?"

She tilted her head. "I'm okay," she replied.

"Who's look is this? Are you hurt anywhere?"

She shook her head.

"I need you to tell me what happened.

And she did, every last detail. Her voice was soft and innocent, but there was a wild look in her eyes. Neither officers could believe what they were hearing.

…

Since she was a minor, it would be difficult to determine her punishment, especially given the circumstances of an abusive father. The girl, however, showed no remorse for what she had done. IN fact, she didn't even seem to know that it was wrong.

The crown had hired both a lawyer and a local therapist for her. Neither managed to get anything different that the police hadn't already heart. A burglar hadn't come. She wasn't covering for her mother.

The mother, she hadn't been much help either. Mary Rose was very close-lipped. She looked devastated that her husband was dead and her daughter was being charged for murder, but most of the time, it looked as if she wasn't even present. The poor woman was completely withdrawn. They feared for her safety and sent her to the same therapist as Clara, hoping that something would come out of it.

"Miss Clara Rose-Kennedy, can you please recount the emotions that drove you to do what you've done?"

"What I've done?" She hated how they skirted around the topic as if they were trying to protect her from something. "I killed him. He just made me so angry. He had to die because of everything that he'd done to me and my mum. You never had to hear her cry every night. It hurts."

Every session was the same. It was mindless chatter one day after another. The worst part was not being able to see her mother. She had done everything so that they could live happily together. It wasn't right for these people to keep them apart. It was not right!

Day after day, however, she learned to say what they wanted to hear. They promised that she would get to see her mother when she's _better_.

With this mindset, she managed to charm the judge and juries in the span of three months. They allowed the lawyer to take her home for a brief visit.

Her eyes glowed with excitement. She was practically bouncing in the car seat.

"Do you miss her?" It was small talk, something to fill the silence. Nathan knew how much she looked forward to the visit.

She fervently nodded. "A lot." The large grin on her face made him smile.

He felt terrible for her. From what he gathered, she had been a good kid at school, albeit a little quiet, but everyone could see the bruises on her. No one did anything. No one was interested to care until the incident came on the news. Then, the teachers started to speak up. It was almost laughable. Too little, too late.

"Here we are." Nathan parked in front of a small, rundown house. He had been there when the first house was sold. This was a poor replacement, but debts had to be paid.

Before he could stop her, Clara jumped out of the car and skipped to the door. She knocked and rang the doorbell, humming happily to herself.

Nathan retrieved the key from his pocket and opened the door.

What they found was something that could not be unseen.

"I don't understand…" She had been mumbling to herself ever since she saw her mother's half-decayed body.

The situation was dire. No one knew what to do with her. Nathan was against putting her in the institution, but it was not his call to make. He was forced to watch her enter the hospital, alone and confused.

…

 _March 14th, 2010_

Clara laid in the bed, staring at the ceiling. This wasn't her room. When was her mum going to pick her up? Nathan promised that they were going to go see her. That liar. She knew lawyers were all money-grabbing crooks.

A knock on the door stole her from her thoughts. The slit opened and a pair of weary broken eyes looked at her. "Clara? May I come in?"

The redhead ignored her. It didn't matter what her reply was.

"Clara, there's someone who wants to meet you."

As expected, the door opened without her approval.

Nurse Julia walked in with a dark-haired man behind her. "Doctor, this is Clara." She gestured to the form on the bed, before quietly adding, "Please, be careful."

Dr. Alan Hill waved her off before sitting on the bed, by Clara's feet. "Clara Rose?"

The girl showed no signs of acknowledgement.

"Do you want to get out of here?" He saw the way her eyes shifted to him before stubbornly looking away. "If you'd allow me to, I can take you away from here to Canada. It's a little colder there, but I believe a change in scenery would be beneficial." When she continued to brood in silence, he sighed. "What is keeping you here, Clara?"

"Mum's going to come for me. I can't leave." She curled up tighter. "She won't know where to find me…"

Her reply broke his heart. It wasn't the first time that he's seen severe trauma wipe out certain memories, but for it to happen to her in such a case was difficult to bear. "Do you remember what happened when you went home?"

She frowned. "I never got there 'cause the bloody lawyer is a bloody _liar_. He still hasn't taken me to see mum, yet."

"When was the last time you were home? Can you walk me through it?"

Clara didn't understand what this doctor could do that the other could not. There was nothing to fix because she wasn't broken.

"Clara, work with me – just this once. Walk me through that day."

She hugged, but gathered that he wasn't going to leave if she didn't at least give him something. "I just came back from school. It was really sunny. I was hot and thirty. I got home, entered the house, got a glass of water, and… and…" She trailed off as a different scene played in her head. It wasn't hot that day… What had she been doing? Was Nathan there? She didn't know him before Brad was gone, so why was he there?

She watched herself wander the house, going through every room. What was she looking for? "Mum…?" Her mum was waiting for her to come home. They were going to have a fantastic feast, but she… she…

It was _red_ …?

Her mother. She was sleeping in the bathtub. Didn't she know that that was dangerous? Did she leave old food in there? Why did it stink so much? "Mum…"

Red. Red. _Red_. _**Red**_. **Red**.

"Why didn't she wake up?" She tugged at her hair. "I came back home… I came back to be with her…"

 _"Baby, why did you leave me?"_ Her eyes flitted over to the corner of the room. _"It was so lonely in the house…"_ Her mother looked so sad.

"I can back for you, mum," Clara told her. "It wasn't my fault. I came back!"

 _"You were too late!"_ Mary wailed. " _My Clara would never do that to me."_

"No…"

" _You're not my Clara!"_

"I'm sorry…" she sobbed. "I'm sorry…"

 _"You let me DIE_!"

Dr. Hill could see that he had lost her. It was not his intention to subject her to the horrors again, but he needed to know how far she was gone.

The nurse ran in to usher him out with an apologetic look on her face. He reassured her and told her that he'd be returning in four day's time. True to his words, he came back.

Clara seemed to be responding better to him. Her replies were lucid. She remembered everything that happened and even though her eyes always look glassy, he was relieved to know that she remained calm.

After several more visits, he asked her the question. "Clara, do you want to get better?"

She looked down. "I don't know. Sometimes, I'm happy to stay in here. This place is like a different world. I don't have to face…" She shook her head. "But I know I can't stay like this forever. I'd rather be dead than accept that this will always be my life, now. These four walls… The meds…"

He knew, then, that she wasn't the lost cause these reports made her out to be. She just needed someone to take their time with her and with so many patients at the institution, she would never get the attention that she needed.

Within the next month, he put in as much effort as he could to transfer Clara over to him. It was an arduous task that involved stacks of paperwork and more time than he could spare away from his other clients. Since Nathan had been Clara's lawyer, he had hired him to deal with the rest of the process and eventually, everything was done.

She was flown over and resided with his sister. He was confident that if anyone could truly help her, it'd be Sarah. His sister had such a wonderful recovery. She had remarried and looked happier than he had ever seen her.

The only thing that worried him was whether Clara's murderous tendency was reserved only for her father or whether he had just put his family in danger.

…

 _May 23rd, 2010_

"How have you been liking Canada?"

"It's cold." She had on a puffy, purple jacket. Black mittens enveloped her hands and a purple beanie covered her head. She refused to take any of them off.

"And school?"

She shrugged. It wasn't that different than the one in London, in terms of social circles. She hadn't been able to make any friends. Somehow, everyone had heard who she was and how she was seeing Dr. Hill. Even the teachers seemed wary of her. "School is school."

What she never expected was for the sessions to slowly help her ease back into society. Dr. Hill was a patient man. He met with her as often as he could and he even took the time after work to visit her.

Sarah became more of a close friend than a parent figure and even though Clara spent limited time with the husband, John, she could see how happy he made his wife. It was such a different dynamic to what she was used to and it was something she could never understand. She did learn, however, about Sarah's history. The grey-haired woman had been through it all and came back stronger. Clara wanted that.

She was going to make something of herself, or at least have a life of her own away from prying eyes and prodding hands. That meant she needed a job.

During the next summer, she went job hunting and was shot down every single time. Her history seemed to be known to everyone in Alberta, Canada. When year ten came, she was forced to let another nine months go by. Her mood was easily pinpointed by Dr. Hill who began another round of questions.

When she told him of her plans, he actually thought it was a good idea. In fact, he offered her a part time job at his office. It was small, but at least she was finally getting her own income. As she got the hang of it, he gave her more hours. It became a wonderful alternative to sulking in the house with nothing to do.

Each year after past like a routine, until a particular new patient caught her eye. He was quietly sitting in the chair like many others, but there was something in his eyes that intrigued her.

Josh Washington.

He was a year older than her, but there seemed to be some kind of connection between them. It was like a cliché moment where it felt as if you just instantly knew someone. She couldn't figure out why.

She watched him moodily go in and wondered the entire time why he was here. What problems did he have? She wasn't sure how long she pondered, but suddenly, Josh flew out with a look of rage and annoyance. She wanted to talk to him. She wanted to know what was wrong, but she didn't know how to approach him.

Despite his obvious dislike of the sessions and Dr. Hill, he kept coming back. She was glad. She loved seeing him, but one day, he looked completely lost. That was the day she truly realised who he was.

Josh Washington – the brother of recently deceased Hannah and Beth Washington; the son of Bob and Melinda Washington. He was the spawn of the people who ruined her family. The hatred that immediately burned in her was so strong that she wanted to push him out the window, but she didn't.

She had learned self-control.

After Josh left, she went to see Dr. Hill.

He knew.

Of course, he knew.

There was no way that he hadn't known who Josh was to her and the good doctor didn't lie. He tried to reason with her like a logical person. It was a bad idea to kill Josh.

No, she told him that she wasn't going to do that.

During their times together in the lobby, she managed to gain Josh's trust. She was going to attend his silly winter party and _break him_. She was going to break him the way his family had broken her. What he had experienced before would be nothing like what she had planned for him.

Seeing the look on her face, Dr. Hill strongly advised her not to go, but she already knew the game. Give them what they wanted to hear and then ease them into changing their minds. All she had to do was feign innocence and pretend that she wanted to spend the winter actually getting to know other people. And indeed, that was what she was going to do.

But she was going to kill him.

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

I lied in the last chapter, but this is probably going to be the last big chunk of the past. No promises for smaller ones, though. I don't know how much you guys actually like reading that, but I didn't want there to be any loopholes or confusion. I hope it didn't bore you to death. If there's anything unclear, ask and I'll try to explain it in future chapters.

After this, the story should pick up, again.

This includes the romance (hopefully; should be?). This story just seems to have its own idea and I'm really as surprised as you are when Clara turned out to be a bloody psychopath. That was not part of the original outline. I really don't know what happened there.

As mentioned in the beginning of the chapter, I will be changing this story's name. I'm terrible with titles, character names, and summaries and when I first uploaded the Prologue, I didn't have any in mind. I just wanted to be able to post the story, so I chose something cliché that would hopefully grow on me, but it didn't.

A friend suggested the title, "Point of Emaciation" and one of you also agreed on it, so that's what I've settled on.

Thank you **Solleo93** for your title suggestion, you're the only one to give me something new and I actually slept on it. It's actually a really good title, but I counted my friend as one vote and ended up with two for Point of Emaciation.

I always seem to have far too much to say here... I really do try to keep it short, but it hasn't worked, thus far...

I'd like to thank all you reviewers: **Solleo93** , **Dusk-deerfluff, Connie Hooper** , and Guest ( **MikoDarcia** ). I know this chapter isn't as good, but I'd love to see more reviews coming from everyone.

Thank you also to everyone who has favourited and followed this story.

 _Echo_


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N: This story was previous known as "Revenge is a Dish Best Served Hot." Just to clear up any general confusion.**

* * *

 **CHAPTER NINE**

"JO~OSH!" she called into the dark mining cavern. "Where are you? It's Clara!" Her voice echoed in the tunnels.

Where had he gone? They said he was going to be here. It was frustrating. She wasn't going to let those things kill him! He was _hers_.

"Josh Washington! Stop playing hide and seek! It's not fun, anymore!" No, it was annoying.

 _Drip. Drip._

Would he be somewhere near water?

She followed the sound to a small underground lake. There didn't seem to be any way around it. Without a second thought, she slipped her phone into her bra before jumping in. The water was cold and murky. At the bottom, she could hear something brittle shatter under her shoes.

"Are you there, Josh?"

Nothing.

A small alcove to the right caught her attention. She waded over and pulled herself up. The cold water was nearly at a freezing temperature when the breeze hit her. With shaky hands, she pulled her phone out and turned on the light. There wasn't much here, except for a raggedy notebook.

She nonchalantly flipped through the pages. From the contents, she could only gather that it belonged to Hannah. The lost woman had dug up her own dead twin and ate her. How disgusting… The last few entries weren't even legible. All Clara could make out was a repetition of the word, "Hungry."

She thought back to the Stranger. He mentioned how cannibalism resulted in some sort of curse. Perhaps a mutation? These creatures were all been human at one point. It was disturbing, yet fascinating in its own right.

Dropping the notebook haphazardly on the ground, she jumped back into the water.

"Josh!" she called out again. The other side of the lake finally came into view. She followed the tunnel. Many forks led to dead ends. There seemed to only be one direct path. "Josh!"

Where was he?

She rounded the corner heard a distinct voice. "Josh!" A familiar figure was shouting at nothing. She hurried over to him. "Josh!"

"I trust you… I trust you…" He was facing her, but he wasn't talking to her. He wasn't _seeing_ her.

He seemed to be speaking to the imaginary phantoms in his head.

"Josh!" She slapped him hard on the face.

His glazed over eyes cleared and he began to sputter. "C-Clara, wh-what… Why did you do that?"

"A bit of head trauma could reset the brain… You were lost in your mind," she explained. "Who were you seeing?"

Tears immediately welled up in his eyes. He fell to his knees and hugged her around the wait. "Clara. Clara. Clara. You're real? Are you real?" He pressed his face against her wet trousers.

She stroked his hair. "Of course, I'm real. I'm here, Josh." Her voice was soft. She didn't want to frighten him. He reminded her of a frightened animal – lost and confused, but volatile. She wasn't sure if he was going to lash out at her or not.

"They won't stop," he sobbed. "The voices… Hannah… Beth… They're always talking to me. Why couldn't I help them? Why…? I loved them so much, Clara." He was an absolute wreck. His eyes were bloodshot. The bags underneath them almost made him look like the living dead. His hands had mussed up his hair so much that it was completely sticking up on end. He looked silly.

She continued to run her hand through the dark locks, until it was back to its proper place. "I know how much you love them. They knew it, too."

"Don't leave me, Clara," he begged, nuzzling her damp jeans. "I need you…"

"Do you love me, Josh?" she whispered.

He hummed and nodded. "I love you, Clara. You're the only thing that makes sense. You make the voice go away."

"Do you want the voices to go away forever?"

He nodded, again. "Please. Please…"

…

Sam and Mike could hear the two voices travelling through the mine shafts. They were relieved to know that Josh wasn't alone and that he was alive, but how had Clara gotten there before them? Why hadn't she stayed with the others where it was safe?

At first, their hearts melted when they saw the two locked in an embrace, as unconventional as it was. In a way, it looked as if Josh was clinging to his saviour – worshipping her. Then, their eyes travelled to the woman. She was like a warrior. Her posture was almost regal. She was holding a knife.

They were glad that Clara was smart enough to bring a weapon along with her. With those creatures on the loose, it wasn't safe to be unarmed. These thoughts, however, quickly disappeared when Mike pointed out how the glinting blade was positioned near Josh's neck.

"I can make it all go away, Josh," they heard Clara promise their sobbing friend who was oblivious to the knife that was a breadth's length from his neck. "Look at me."

Josh peeled his face from her jeans and peered up with wide, chocolate brown eyes. He was like a precious, little puppy. "Help me. 'Love you, Clara. Please, help me."

"It's okay. You can finally be at peace, now." Clara shifted her hand, ready to plunge it into the soft flesh when a loud bang and pains hot through her arm. Her aim veered off and the knife became buried in his shoulder, only an inch away from the wound that she had previously wrapped for him.

She turned to see Mike with a handgun pointed at her. A small chunk of her arm had been stripped off. The whites of her bones were painted red by the blood that was bubbling out of the opening.

"I didn't think you'd find us," she told them, clutching her arm. "Took you a while."

Josh was groaning in pain on the ground beside her, but she ignored him and tried to pull the knife back out. As she leaned down, however, Mike had already moved closer, the gun was pointed at her head, now.

"Get back!" he demanded.

She raised her uninjured arm and took a step back. Sam was immediately by Josh's side.

The sight angered her.

"Why?" the blonde asked. "I thought you liked him and he just said he _loved_ you!"

Clara sneered at them. "I don't think he has the capacity to love anyone, Sam. Don't you also have a crush on him? I've heard you guys flirt – _a lot_. Nothing's ever come out of it, no?"

Sam pursed her lips before looking away.

" _Answer me_ , _Sam_!" she roared. "I've also seen him flirt with Jess and Ashley. That's all he does. He plays with your heart – tell you what you want to hear and then stab you in the back. He'll keep hurting you and hurting you and hurting you. I'm not going to let it happen to me. I'm not going to let it get me killed. I'm not my mother." She was breathing heavily. Her vision was completely blinded by her anger and hatred.

"You're not making any sense!" Sam shouted at her.

Clara snarled and pointed at Josh. " _His_ mother just couldn't keep her bloody legs closed. That fuckin' whore! This is the spawn who ruined my family."

"What you're doing doesn't justify anything, Clara," Mike tried to reason. His gun was still trained on the deranged redhead. "He hasn't done anything to you or your mother."

"Don't talk to me about justice. There's no such thing. There is only revenge and the feeling of their hot blood running down your hands. _That_ is the closest thing to justice." Clara could still see it in her head as if it had only been hours ago. "Father got to see what happened. He came home drunk like he usually did. Mum was crying like she always did. Everyone was in their natural state. All, except me. No, I decided that I wasn't going to keep letting him hurt us. When his back was turned, I stabbed him. Over and over and over and over, again."

A sick grin stretched across her lips. "Mum stopped crying. She finally stopped crying and it was because of _me_. She came down, saw what I had done for us and she had the best sleep ever. She just took a nap right in front of me."

Mike swallowed. Even he was unsettled by her story. She had completely lost it and he wasn't sure if he could bring himself to pull the trigger when the time came. Fortunately, before he had to make a decision, she turned around, immersed in her own memories.

"I loved her so much," she whispered. "I had done everything for her. He was bogey man and I got rid of him, so why did she leave me?" her voice cracked as she lamented. "I loved her _and she left me_! I don't understand… I had risked going to jail for her! I risked my entire future… And she fuckin' slit her own wrist! _Fuckin' coward_!"

She began to pull her hair, muttering under her breath and shaking her head. "I loved her… I loved her…"

"Clara…" Sam took a deep breath as she tried to figure out what was happening. "Did… Did Josh's mum do anything else? I know that… that your dad cheated on your mom with her, but what you did – isn't it a little extreme?"

"Extreme?" Clara swiftly turned to look at Sam with fire burning in her eyes. She shook her head. "What was extreme was how Bob Washington ruined us after he found out his whore of a wife was cheating on him. Father lost his job. Mum lost hers. It was all his fault! Apparently, he has quite a lot of influence in London… Who would've thought that a canuck could cause so much damage…" She let out a mirthless chuckle. "Do you know what I thought when I heard of those Washington twins on the news? _Karma_. The Washington family was finally getting theirs and I was going to watch them burn."

"You don't mean that," Sam told her. "I know you were hurt, but I've seen the way you look at him. You like him as much as he likes you. Yes, I … I had a crush on him, but that was before the incident and you're right, he does flirt a lot, but he's not the same with you. Don't you notice that? He's a completely different person when you're around. When the two of you are alone?" Sam's voice shook. She was frightened of what the other woman could do. "He told me how much he liked you over the summer."

Clara seemed to slightly calm down.

"Look at me in the eyes and tell me that you don't feel anything for him? That you don't feel the same way?"

"That doesn't mean anything…"

"He loves you, Clara!" Sam told her. "He trusts you."

Her entire body seemed to deflate and she fell into a sitting position. "Of course, I do," she whispered. She thought back to all the times they've spent together. There hadn't been a time that she could recall being happier than when she was with him. He made her happy, annoyed, excited, flustered, and angry. He made her feel so much. "But I can't. I've seen and experience what love does and it's poison." She burned her face into her hands. "I can't afford that. All I have is this… this hate. I'm afraid if I let it go, I wouldn't be able to feel anything at all. That I'd lose myself. I wouldn't be _me_."

A hand touched her elbow and gently tugged it away from her face. Before she could even open her eyes, cold, chapped lips pressed themselves on her own.

She shuddered and moaned in contentment when a hand ran through her hair. As he pulled away, a whimper escaped her lips. "Josh…"

"I love you, Clara. I wasn't lying."

"You can't," she cried. "You can't love me. I'm… I'm a monster. I'm not better than these monsters. I might as well stay here an – "

"No!" he shouted. The pain in his eyes mirrored hers. "I love you. You're not a monster. We both just need a lot of help. I think… I think we can do it together."

She covered her mouth and let out a sob. "I'm so sorry…"

She gingerly touched where the knife had impaled him. Funny how this was the first time she's regretted harming another person.

"I guess we're even, now." He grinned at her concerned look. "You helped me when Ashley stabbed me and now you – " He stopped when she began to cry harder. "Hey! Hey, I was only playing."

She shook her head. "A-Ashley… I was… I gave them to Ashley – the scissors," she whispered. "I thought she was going to kill you with them. I thought you'd die, but when you came back hurt, I just.. My head keeps telling me to kill you, but my heart hurts when _you're hurt_. I'm so confused…"

He held her close. "Dr. Hill will help us. He's good at it. He can do it."

Clara looked down. That's what she thought too, but look at her now. She was still a bloody psychopath.

"Besides, now I have some cool battle scars."

Suddenly, a loud screech startled the tour of them. Mike checked the ammo to his gun before ushering everyone to start hurrying out. Whatever issues that they still have would have to be dealt with later.

"Wait, the cable car keys. Do you have them?" Sam stopped him before he could move another step.

Josh searched around his pockets and handed them over to Sam. He was as eager to leave this place and they were.

The blonde pocketed them and continued onward. They needed to hurry out.

Clara and Josh stayed close to each other while Sam and Mike checked the situation ahead. Clara's steps were slow and staggered. The blood lost was starting to get to Clara. Her head was spinning and her vision was wavering.

Josh tugged at her whenever she began to lag behind. "We'll make it out of here, okay?" There was so much guilt and regret in him. No matter what Clara had intended to do, it was his fault that they were here in this cave and on this mountain. If only he could've let it go – listened to the doctor when he said that it was a bad idea. He should've stopped when things began to get out of hand and Ashley stabbed him, but he didn't. That was why he couldn't bring himself to hate the redhead who was leaning heavily against him. They were more similar than either of them would admit and more similar than anyone would like. They were just two sides of the same coin.

"Hey, I think that's a direct route out." Sam pointed to a location ten feet up where light was filtering through. "If you give me a small boost, I'll go tell the others what's happening."

Mike agreed and up she went. He turned to the two injured party. "We'll have to cut back through the lake. Stay close. I don't want to have to look for you guys, again."

The two nodded.

Josh helped Clara down into the water and pulled her with him. She wondered how much longer she'd be able to stay awake. Every few steps, her knees buckled. The only thing holding her up was Josh and the density of the water.

"This way." Mike gestured to the left when a form burst out of the water.

It screeched loudly, taking hold of Josh's head. Clara stared at it in shock. "No!" she screamed. She looked around for something to ward it away, but found nothing. Instead, she remembered the notebook she had found. "Hannah! Hannah?" She had to gamble. Hannah probably turned into one of these things. If this was her, perhaps it would be more lenient. "That's Josh. Your _brother_." Where had Mike gone? Josh needed their help! "Please, Hannah."

The thing screeched in her direction, but didn't let go.

With a burst of adrenaline, she cut through the water and tackled the creature's mid-section. It dropped Josh before flinging out an arm that hit her in the face. The force was enough to throw her to the side, completely dazed and motionless with her face in the water.

Josh furiously tried to wade to her. The creature let out one more tremendous cry behind him before disappearing back into the darkness. He didn't know why it left, but there was no time for him to contemplate on it. Clara still hadn't moved and the bubbles that signified that she was breathing had dissipated.

He pulled her out, frantically checking for a pulse.

It was weak.

He pressed on her chest, willing her to breathe, again. "Come on, Clara. I can't lose you, now." He pinched her nose and breathed into her. "Live for me, Clara. Live for me. _Please_." Tears welled up in his eyes. "I can't do this without you."

He regret asking her to come here. He regret hurting her with the prank. He even regret what his family had done to her.

He remembered that time. His father was furious and demanded to ruin the Kennedy family. It never occurred to him then that he would fall for the daughter or even get to meet her.

Now, she was fuckin' dying in his arms and he still couldn't seem to do anything right.

 _"You won't be able to save her, Josh, just like you couldn't save me."_ Beth was standing right in front of him as he tried desperately to revive Clara.

"Shut up!" he shouted. "I'm not listening to you anymore. You're not real! You're not real!" He continued CPR and suddenly, Clara began to cough up water. She gasped and panted, taking in as much air as she could. "Clara!" He gathered her into his arms, sobbing.

He could feel her shaking form against him. His eyes scanned the cave.

His sister was gone.

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

I've also decided not to be mean and leave it in a cliff-hanger. Clara's still alive! Would you all hate me if I ended it with Clara supposedly drowning to death?

Despite this, I can't guarantee how long Clara would be alive for. I mean, Josh never made it off the mountain in the game, did he? Would you guys like a happy ending or a sad ending?

So, this is also the moment where it's escalated quite quickly, despite finally revealing Clara's past and thoughts in the previous chapters. I hope you guys didn't think the confessions were too random. I personally think there's a thin line between love and hate. Josh seemed to have already taken a liking to Clara in the very beginning and Clara… well… Who knows what really goes on in her head?

And I'm sorry, I just needed to add the "two sides of the same coin" for a friend. If she ever reads this chapter… Haha. Please, don't hate me. Kudos to anyone who knows what I'm referring to.

Thank you to **Solleo93** and **Dusk-deerfluff** for reviewing! You guys are amazing! I'm kind of glad that you were surprised with the twist of events. I think all stories need twists and mine is just a little more twisted.

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story.

I do see an end coming soon. Probably not the next chapter or the one after it, but soon. I'm kind of sad that it's coming to an end so soon. I've never posted chapters so quickly before to any story, but this one just came quickly.

I've also gone back to the first couple of chapters and did a bit of editing. I noticed some silly typos… I know I'm prone to them a lot. I'll try to get around to editing the rest soon!

 _Echo_


	11. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN**

Josh didn't know what to do. When he had that brilliant plan, this had never been a possibility. No one was supposed to physically get hurt. It was all a joke and now…

He couldn't get her to breathe. She was dying in his arms and he didn't know what to do. IN a desperate final attempt, he slammed his fist against her chest. There was a faint crack that only increased hi panic. No, no… He hurt her. "I'm sorry, Clara." He laid his head on her chest and sobbed, trying to memorise the way her life was beating into his ears.

Suddenly, her body jerked and she began to cough out water. The sound of choking made him jolt up and help her to her side. Mouthfuls of water spewed out of her before she was left gasping for air.

"Clara! Clara!" He hovered over her with tears in his eyes. She was alive!

She stared groggily at him. "J-Josh…?" Where was she? What happened to her? Her entire body felt as if it had been ran over several times. Her arm hurt. Her legs were sore. Her face felt swollen and her chest ached. It was even difficult to breathe.

"I thought I lost you," he cried, pulling her against him.

She winced in pain, but managed to find comfort in his arms.

Clara had never felt so confused. She could vaguely recall everything that happened in these mines, but it was like an out of body experience. Did it all really happen?

She gingerly gingerly touched her upper arm where Mike had shot her.

It hurt.

Other than the pain, she felt safe in his arms. She wanted nothing more than to remain there, but she knew that she couldn't because it _wasn't_ safe. Miraculously, whatever was left of Hannah decided to leave them alone, but that didn't mean the others weren't going to want a free meal.

He reluctantly let go. "I don't know how." He looked shamefully away from her.

She touched his arm to catch his attention before giving him an encouraging smile. "It's alright. We'll be fine. _You_ told me that and we _will_ be." She could only hope that she'd remember how to get back. It all seemed like a blur. There were several turns that she would be able to recognise, but that was it.

Never in her life had she thought that she'd be in a situation like this.

Josh carefully helped her to her feet. Immediately, her vision went black and she stumbled into him. The darkness parted in a flurry of colourful spots.

"Are you okay?" Josh sounded ready to lost it, again.

Blinking several times, she mumbled an affirmative answer. It didn't matter if she was alright or not. They had no other options. "This way," she whispered, dragging her feet forward. She was grateful that he had pulled her on to the correct side of the lake. There was no way she'd be able to make it otherwise.

One foot in front of the other. One-two, three-four. One-two, three-four.

It was going so smoothly. They had to have made it half way before they turned into an unfamiliar fork. She started doubting if they had gone the right way. Was this the correct path? It they had already taken a wrong turn earlier, she didn't know if she could bring herself to go back. It had been a substantial distance and all she wanted to do was lay down, close her eyes, and give up.

Maybe for just a few seconds…

"Clara!"

Her eyes snapped open. She couldn't be selfish now. Josh was counting on her. She owed him at least this much for what she had done to him. Not only that, she knew that her feelings were also stopping her. It had never been her intention to fall in love. She had seen what it did to people, but she couldn't seem to shut that part of herself off.

"Left. Let's try left." They had to move forward. Each step was agonising. Her vision wavered. She took one more step and collapsed.

When she next opened her eyes, Josh was in front of her, dabbing her head with his sleeve. She gave him a small smile, but noted how the sleeve was already covered in blood – his. That was her fault. Tears stung her eyes as she tried to keep the feelings from devouring her. "I'm so sorry…" It was her fault. If she hadn't been so bent on revenge, perhaps this wouldn't have happened. She had been Josh's only hope when his friends had all forsaken him and the only thing on her mind was to make him suffer. Where did it get her? Nowhere.

 _She watched as Mike landed another punch on Josh's face. There was already bruising around the eyes. She wanted to help him. Despite what his family had done, he elicited a foreign emotion inside her. "Are you sure it was Josh who did it?" she spoke up without meaning to. Immediately, a voice in her head was chastising her. There was a chance to get rid of him and she was ruining it! It was like her mouth had a mind of its own. She was foolishly sabotaging herself._

 _But then he turned to Sam. Sweet Sam who could do no wrong. Clara could tell that the blonde had a crush on him and when she revealed what Josh had said to her, Clara could feel that terrible jealousy rearing its ugly head inside her. Men, they were all the same. Inconsiderate assholes who played with women._

 _So she watched him burn and poured fuel into fire._

The sinking feelings of guilt and regret was overwhelming, now. "It's all my fault," she whispered.

He swallowed hard. "No. He told me it was a bad idea. I should've listened to him. We'll get out. It's just a stinkin' mine. Heard some miners who were trapped here got out alright. We can, too."

 _Screeeech!_

"Oh, no…" Clara looked into the darkness in horror.

"Come on! Come on!" Josh grabbed her hand and began to lead her forward. It didn't matter where they went as long as it was away from the creature.

 _Screeeech!_

It was getting closer.

"There!" He pointed to where light was filtering into the cavern.

Clara followed his finger up a small cliff and paled.

He immediately began to scale it. His body moved nimbly up the rocky surface.

With shaky hands, she grasped on to the first ridge and tried to pull herself up. Not even a metre off the ground, she slid painfully back down, scraping her arms. She shook her head. There was no way she'd be able to make it up there. She leaned her head against the rocky surface in despair.

At least one of them would be able to get away. She didn't mind being a distraction. Maybe the Wendigo would take her and leave him alone.

Josh was a third way up when he noticed a presence missing. "Come on! We have to hurry!" He held his hand out to her. Why wasn't she moving? They didn't have time to rest now.

She looked back up at him with teary eyes. "Go. I-I'll just be a second…"

 _Screeeech!_

She covered her mouth to keep the sob from coming out. She was so scared, but she couldn't let Josh know. He'd come back down here and neither of them would be able to get out.

 _Screeeech!_

A form jumped down in front of her. She kept her eyes shut. They were terrifying. She didn't want the last face she'd see be that monster's ugly visage. Josh. That was who she wanted to see. _Josh_.

"Clara!" Hands were on her. "Hold on." She opened her eyes to see the back of the blue, ugly overalls. "Get on. I'll help you up."

"No, Josh, you have to go," she cried. She would be nothing but a burden to him. "There's no time."

"Then stop washing it!" He tugged her arms around his neck. She sniffed and wrapped them tighter, pressing her entire body against his back. All the while, she was apologising. "We can do it, Clara."

The constant reminder that the Wendigo was behind them was unsettling. It was growing louder and louder. She looked back and immediately felt her heart drop. She buried her face back into his shoulder. The image of the pale-skinned creature was searched into her mind.

Sensing her distress, he started to turn his head to see what was wrong, but she quickly stopped him. "Go, please. Just hurry."

He squared his shoulders and continued onward.

 _Screeeech!_

His heart leapt to his throat. It sounded as if it was just at the base of the cliff. The only thing that kept him going strong were the soft whispers coming from the redhead wrapped around him.

Once the top was within reaching distance, he leapt for it and pulled himself and Clara up. As he was helping her to her feet, he caught a glimpse of its face and the tattoo on its arm. "Hannah…" He shook his head. "You're not real… You're not Hannah…" His vision began to distort. The walls were moving and a hole in the ground was going to consume him. The hole morphed into a mouth. It was Beth's face was growing out of it. "No… No… You're not real! You can't control me anymore!"

A hand touched his face. He looked at concerned grey eyes. "We have to go. That's not Hannah – not anymore." She couldn't afford to lose him to a memory. It was difficult enough keeping herself together.

He gave the Wendigo one more glance before nodding. It wasn't Hannah. Hannah would never try to hurt anyone.

They raced through the trees with the creature following closely behind them. The mine opening hadn't taken her anywhere familiar, but it didn't matter. They needed somewhere to hide and the trees weren't enough.

Not long, Clara was panting heavily. Her shaky legs were threatening to fold beneath her weight. "J-J…" She gasped for air. "J-Josh!" He continued to drag her forward. "Josh! I c-can't!" She wasn't getting enough oxygen. Her lungs burned. They ached painfully in her chest, but he wasn't listening. She tried to pry his hand away from hers. It was useless. He was too consumed with fleeing.

Her knees buckled and she fell, taking him down with her. She laid flat on her stomach in the snow, slightly buried by the cold slush. Her blood was already painting the snow red. She was so tired. She couldn't do it anymore. Tears slid down the side of her face, leaving a frozen trail behind.

Suddenly, a warm body covered hers. Josh rested his head on her shoulder. "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise." He wound their fingers together and waited for the Wendigo to claim them.

 _Screeeech!_

Its pace had slowed as if it knew exactly what was there – waiting helpless. The footsteps crunched deep into the snow.

Clara bit her lips to keep the sob in.

Josh had his face buried into the crook of her neck.

The Wendigo stopped in front of their motionless bodies.

This was it.

This was really the end.

 _Screeech!_

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

So after contemplating for a while, I've decided to end it here. I know most of you wanted a happy ending, but I thought it'd be a good place to just cut it off. I had planned for it to be longer, but somehow, it just got away from me. I couldn't find a place to end it where I had first intended, so I thought it'd be best to leave it here instead of having an incomplete ending.

I'm really, really sorry that it couldn't have been better. I know I promised you guys at least two more chapters. I hope this won't disappoint that many of you. I've tried my best to make it as exciting as possible and kind of let them go with a bang – a quiet bang…

Thank you everyone for being so supportive in this story. All the reviews for the previous chapter had made me so happy that I ended up acting so silly.

I was writing and writing and writing and considering the theme or the game and all the underhanded plots in this story, I just had to do this.

I do wish to apologise to anyone who decided to stop reading after the first paragraph in this Author's Note, though. It'll probably reflect negatively on me, but here's the rest of the chapter.

* * *

The footsteps circled around them. Josh's breath quickened. He could feel how hard Clara was trying to make herself blend in with the snow, but there was still a violent tremble racking through her body.

He shifted his head and pressed his lips against the pulse of her neck. If he died, he at least wanted to kiss her one last time. He never thought that it could so quickly be his last. He wanted more time with her. He thought he had more time!

Gathering up his courage, he trailed up to the corner of her lips.

Clara felt herself relax as she was completely enveloped by Josh. She angled her face to look directly into his eyes. He was staring back at her before glancing at her lips, as if to ask for permission.

Despite the situation, she gave him a smalls mile. It was enough for him to press his lips on hers.

Warn tingles exploded where their lips connected. They travelled down her body and filled her with a sense of contentment. For the first time in her life, she felt complete. Never did she think that she'd be able to experience something like this.

 _Screeech!_

The Wendigo paused by their heads.

If this was it, she didn't mind dying like this.

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

I apologise again for the silliness! This chapter still ended in a cliffhanger, but _**it's not the end**_. There will be a next chapter. I hope there is actually people left reading this and they haven't all left after the first Author's Note…

Well, if you have… Then no one would mind me ranting about Mike and his cowardly behaviour… I mean, how could he have just left Josh to the Wendigo's hands like that?! After everything that he had done in the sanatorium and how _he_ was the one to tie Josh in the shed by himself because he was an idiot who thought Josh killed Jess! After he realised that there were actual monsters on the mountains, he went to find Josh, _but only for the bloody cable car keys!_ I thought he actually wanted to rectify his mistake – that he wasn't such an arse and cared for the friend who lost his sisters and lost his mind because of Jess' half-arsed prank! What a bloody prick!

Okay, I'm done. I apologise for that as well. I haven't been able to get it off my chest because none of my friends are particularly interested in this game nor seem to be as affected by what Mike had done to Josh.

That being said, I have seen how all of you seem to want a happy ending for them. I also think Josh deserves it for all the things he had to go through. The game never gave us an option to truly save him.

 **Dusk-deerfluff** also mentioned wanting perhaps two endings. I've slept on it and thought… Why not? But I hope you know what you're about to get yourself into. Muahaha

Now that I may have scared you off of the idea (I hope not because I do have something planned, now), I'd like to thank **Solleo93, peach-barnes, Dusk-deerfluff, ILovePotatoes94** , and **PorcelainPuppetLady** for your wonderful reviews.

I'd also like to thank everyone who has followed and favourited this story.

I hope I haven't lost any of you to the lil prank/joke. Too bad it's nowhere near April. It would've been more appropriate then, but… I'll have to make do with what I have. Since none of you can give me a Treat on Hallowe'en. That was the Trick for you all!

This is why I shouldn't eat chocolate so late at night.

Despite that, I hope you guys will leave a review - an opinion, a random thought, some suggestions, what your thoughts on Mike are or even how unhappy you are with me for pulling that little prank.

 _Echo_


	12. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

"This way! This way! Hurry!"

The Wendigo snapped its head towards the left and screeched loudly. Its attention was quickly captured by the possibility of new, exciting prey.

Clara and Josh held their breaths as a quick brush of air hit their faces before it quickly leapt from tree to tree, over to the direction of the frantic voice.

They stared at each other with wide eyes. Even though the Wendigo was already out of their sights, they remained motionless until they were sure that it was gone. Had that really happened? Did they escape death, once again? Just a second longer and either or both of them would've been dead.

Clara was the first to pull away. Her face was flushed from the cold, but it was the lingering feeling of his lips upon hers that made it burn bright red.

Josh got off her before helping the redhead to her feet. He couldn't believe that that had just happened. Not only were they not dead, he had kissed her! It wasn't like the one in the cave. No, this one had been desperate. He was sure she could tell what his feelings were for her and he was nervous.

"Clara, I – "

"Josh, I think that was Matt." Her eyes were trained on where the Wendigo disappeared to. "Emily said he might've died, but he's alive. Do you think maybe Jess is too?" It wasn't as if she was particularly concerned about either of them, but Josh's friends were hypercritical because they were gone. Perhaps they'd actually be a little more tolerable once those two returned.

"I – I don't know." Josh could only focus on the warmth of her hands, still entwined in his. He felt better knowing that she was physically there and that she wasn't going to spontaneously disappear into thin air.

She sighed. "We should… We should…" What would Dr. Hill think is right? What would he say to her during situations like these?

"We should go." Josh wasn't about to run back into danger for the people who had left him to die in the shed and again in the mines. Fuck, no. "We should get off these mountains!"

He patted around his pockets. Where did those keys go?

"What are you looking for?" Clara turned to him.

He felt a rush of panic as he remembered what he had done with those keys. How could he have just foolishly handed them over to Sam? "Fuck!" She ran off with them and now, it was impossible to leave without first going back there.

"What's wrong?" Clara didn't like the look on his face. He looked angry and worried.

" _Tell her how you messed up, again, Josh_." Josh's eyes look at Beth who was standing behind Clara.

" _Tell her_ ," Hannah repeated from beside her sister.

" _ **Tell her**_ **."**

Clara noted how his eyes were fixated on a point behind her and turned her head. There was no one there. She knew that look. It was something she was familiar with. She had seem those imaginary demons frequently during the early years with Dr. Hill and they would still visit her every once in a while, but most of the time, she could discern the difference between what was reality and what wasn't. "They're not real, Josh. It's all in your head."

His eyes remained glazed. He wasn't listening.

She touched his cheeks with her hands. "Josh, they're not real. _I am_. Just listen to me, okay?"

He nodded at her without turning his head, his eyes look dazed.

"Josh!" she scolded her. "There's only you and I here. We need to go back. I know how much you don't like them, I don't either, but there is safety in numbers and if you're looking for those keys, I know you gave them to Sam. Let's not worry about that and just go back. We can all leave after, alright?" As much as she wanted to be as confident as she sounded, she wasn't. She was scared and confused. It was so hard being the rock for someone when she was on the verge of losing it herself. "Come on!"

He nodded again, this time with more conviction.

She squeezed his hand and the two began to cautiously make their way through the woods. Each step could alert the Wendigo to their presence. They could only hope that there were no more of those things lurking about.

Eventually, they could see the lodge atop the hill they were on. Despite knowing that the creature may have headed there, it never looked as inviting as now. The grand interior was warm and stocked with food. They were cold, tired, and hungry.

Clara could feel her adrenaline rapidly simmering down. Her limbs felt like lead. They needed to get there quickly.

Suddenly, something moving caught her eye. "Is that Mike?"

They weren't that far from him. The man who had abandoned them was hurriedly making his way to the lodge.

With feet racing beneath them, they headed straight towards him. Josh was going so quickly that Clara actually had difficulty catching up. Her breathing was laboured and her bruised ribs felt as if they were going to burst from her chest.

Unlike last time, Josh eventually slowed down after noticing her struggles. He looked at her with determination in his eyes. "Stay here. I'll catch up to him and come back for you, okay?"

She shook her head profusely. "No, don't leave me, Josh." She wouldn't be able to keep it together if he left. She was _scared_ , didn't he know that? She didn't want to be alone.

"I'll be back. I promise." He kissed her and left before she could say another word.

She stared helplessly at his back. Clara wanted to follow him, but she was exhausted. Her adrenaline had finally run out and all she could do was lean tiredly against the frozen tree.

Josh was dashing towards the lodge as if the devil was on his tail. He was going to get the fucker! He was going to get that mother fucker!

When the other man was within view, he flew on to him with an angry roar. "You fuckin' coward!"

Mike toppled over with Josh wailing on his back.

"You ran! Clara was drowning and you _ran_ , you son of a bitch!"

Mike tried desperately to pull the enraged man off his back. To be honest, he was surprised that Josh was still alive. He was sure that the Wendigo was going to finish him off. Why hadn't it?

After he managed to pull the deranged man off, he jumped to his feet and looked around, wondering if he was going to be ambushed by an equally psychotic redhead, but she was nowhere to be found.

There was a tinge of guilt that hit him at the thought that she was dead. "Josh, I'm sorry, man," he apologised. It had never been his intention to leave her the way he did. Fear had taken hold and he hid. What Josh said was right. Mike knew that he had been a coward, but he'd have to make it up to his friend later. For now, he was going to go back to the lodge for the others.

"You running, again?!" Josh shouted at his retreating form. "You better not leave us to die!"

Mike abruptly turned around. "Us?" Did that mean Clara was still alive? Where was she?

"Did you forget about Clara, _again_?"

"I… No, we'll be at the lodge. Basement," he informed Josh. "Going to hide where all the cameras are. I'll see you there?"

Satisfied, Josh nodded and began to quickly head back to Clara, hoping that he wouldn't regret the decision of leaving her alone. A Wendigo could easily pick her off and he'd never see her again, but if he hadn't gone off first, the others would've left them on this forsaken mountain.

…

She huddled behind the large tree, trying to shield herself from the icy winds. The sun was slowly coming out, but the chill had hardly dissipated. She couldn't recall a time that she missed it as much as right now. The night seemed to have gone on forever.

" _Oh baby_ ," her mother's kind voice whispered in her ears. " _Just close your eyes_." The nostalgia was so comforting, so calming. A ghostly caress left a tingling chill down her back. " _Mother's here to take care of you now."_

 _Screeech!_

Clara's eyes snapped open. She looked wildly around her. Where was it? It was going to get her if she didn't move!

" _Shh… It's okay_." Her mother's arms were around her now. She smelled like cinnamon and apples. Clara could remember the last time she baked her cinnamon apple pie. " _You're tired, baby. They don't exist. It's all in your head. Just listen to your mother. You're safe_."

"Mum, I'm so scared…" she sobbed. "What if… What if Josh doesn't come back for me?" She as nothing but a useless burden as she was. Why ever would he come back? She'd only slow him down.

" _Clara, you know men. You can't trust them. I thought I taught you better than that,"_ her mother chastised her.

She withdrew further into herself. Did that mean he had abandoned her? "Please, Josh come back. I'm sorry I hurt you…" She rocked back and forth. "I'm sorry. Please, come back. I promise I won't do it again. I'll be a good girl."

" _Clara's a very good girl,"_ her mother cooed.

"Don't leave me, again…"

" _Just close your eyes and I'll never leave you, baby."_

Clara felt herself relax, once more. "I missed you, mum…" She buried her face into her knees. "I love you so, so much…"

 _Screeeech!_

…

Josh was pushing his legs as fast as they could go. The Wendigo was near and he could only pray that it hadn't found Clara. He'd never be able to forgive himself.

"Please, be okay, Clara…" His lungs burned, but he was grateful for the small amount of light that was finally peeking up from the mountaintop. It made navigating through the woods much easier. It was also less likely that anything could sneak up on him.

When he arrived at the spot he had left her, she as missing. "No, Clara… No!" He ran around, looking behind trees and searching the bushes. "CLARA!"

He cursed himself for being so foolish, leaving a tired, defenseless girl where he _knew_ a creature was lurking about. He could already hear his sisters berating him. Their decaying flesh flaked from their faces and their eyes were nothing but hollow sockets. Their voices echoed in his head.

Suddenly, staggered footsteps appeared behind him and he immediately turned to see who or what it was. His fight or flight instincts were prompting him act quickly.

"Josh!"

A smaller body hit his. The hair of fire tickling his nose was enough to settle his nerves. "Clara…"

"Don't leave me, again," she begged him with large, grey orbs, glistening with tears. She looked so frightened, shaking in his arms.

"I won't." And he wasn't going to. "The Wendigo. Did you see where it went?"

"The lodge. It just started sprinting there. I'm not sure why. It didn't even seem to notice me." Clara couldn't tell him that she hadn't actually seen anything because her mind was so focusing on the very thing she had told him wasn't real.

The lodge was where his friends were. It was also where he planned to take her. He didn't want her to be in danger, but he couldn't think of another way to get off this mountain. They needed those keys. It was impossible to get down without the cable car. Not only that, out in the open, they were too vulnerable. He needed to taken her where nothing could pop up from behind them. He had to risk it. "We need to go there. The others are waiting in the basement."

She nodded.

Her lack of argument put even more pressure on him. She trusted him to protect her.

The two of them slowly trekked through the woods. He could see how close Clara was to collapsing. He wasn't doing much better himself. The run back had taken almost everything out of him, but at least Mike knew that they were both alive now.

"We're almost there," he'd mumble every now and then, trying to keep their spirits up. He was scared that the thing would come back to claim them right before they could get to safety. "Imagine the fireplace… We could barricade the lodge and stay there until someone comes for us."

She bobbed her head, sluggishly. The downtime had done her no favours. All she wanted was to go back to her mother's warm embrace. She wanted to be that little girl again, before father had started cheating on mother and beating them.

There was one particular memory of him holding her and rubbing his freshly shaven face again her chubby toddler cheeks. His aftershave smelled funny to her, but he was like her big, warm teddy bear. He had been the knight in shining armour to her little princess fantasies.

A quiet sob escaped her lips. Where had it all gone?

"Hey, it's okay." Josh's concerned face was all she could see after he wiped her tears away. "We're going to be okay."

But seconds after he said that, a loud explosion shook the entire mountain. Dark puffs of smoke bloomed from the direction that they were heading.

"No… No!" Josh wanted to run forward to see if it was what he feared. "Clara, I need you to hurry for me. Just a little."

She swallowed hard, but nodded. They were both thinking the same thing. The lodge – their sanctuary – had just blown up and perhaps taking the only other living people with it.

Clara's shaky legs pressed on.

"Look!" She pointed to the sky where a helicopter was hovering in front of the black smoke. It disappeared along the tree line.

People were here to rescue them!

Excitement coursed through their bodies, fuelling them to go faster. They were finally going to leave the accursed lands and the first thing Josh was going to do was tell his father to abandon this place – give it back to the ancestors. He didn't want to be connected to this place anymore. It brought nothing but terrible memories.

"No! No!" he suddenly heard Clara moan in despair. "Josh, look!"

He snapped out of his thoughts to see the helicopter rising once more.

"Stop!" He waved in the air, hoping to catch their attention. "Help! Stop!"

Clara watched helplessly as their ticket home cut through the thick smoke and begin to disappear into the distance. They had been so close… They were minutes away…

"He knew we were coming!" Josh shouted. "That bastard knew we were still here! Fuck!" He kicked a tree trunk in anger. "Fuck!" Mike either didn't tell the others that they were still alive or blatantly told the pilot that no one else had survived. Fucking bastard!

They dejectedly walked the rest of the way into the clearing where only a burning building still stood. Everything in there was gone – their clothing, the surplus of food, comfort, hope. They had been left behind with only the wreckage to remind them that his friends had once been here; that they had abandoned them.

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

I've never had so much trouble finishing a chapter! At one point, I honestly thought I'd have to post this the day after, but here it is!

I know you guys wanted a happy ending and… There will be one. I promise. Kinda… I do have a couple of questions for you, though.

Firstly, I plan to have both a happy and unhappy ending – both will most likely be posted here at different times. **Which one would you like to read first – the happy or unhappy ending?** They will be _vastly_ different.

Secondly, there may be some sexual implications in the next chapter. Yes, implications because I can't seem to bring myself to write anything more explicit. If there's anyone who would like to write a lemon between Clara and Josh, I definitely wouldn't mind – whether they post it under their own account (I'll redirect readers to you) or send it to me (I'll incorporate it into the chapter), and I'll gladly give you credit for it. If sent to me, it may be mildly edited to fit more smoothly into the chapter.

Now, I'd like to thank my wonderful reviewers: **peach-barnes, ILovePotatoes94, Dusk-deerfluff** , and **Solleo93.** You guys have been so good to me and I'd feel bad if I didn't get this chapter out on time because of you.

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story.

I know the next chapter will be just as difficult to write if not _more_ so. Reviews help inspire me, so…

Please continued to review – leave me an opinion (Are the characters OOC? Did I make them too detestable?), suggestion, encouragement or constructive criticism. I'm not too picky.

 _Echo_


	13. Chapter 12

**CHAPTER TWELVE**

 _DAY 1_

The first hour had been the hardest.

Josh succumbed to a fit of rage, destroying everything he could see. He couldn't believe it. They were _gone_. These fuckers… When he gets back into town, they were going to get it. _Every. Last. One of them._

He threw an empty crate into the raging fire. Absolutely no one had stayed behind to look for other survivors. Was this how they 'looked' for his sisters after his family left the mountain? No wonder there was never anything found. No one made the effort to do anything!

Another box went into the flames.

He roared towards the sky where the helicopter had disappeared. They couldn't even wait another minute! They couldn't have waited one single fucking moment!

With a furious shout, he turned and abruptly stopped.

Clara was watching him with wide, frightened eyes. Half her body was shielded behind a tall tree. When he approached, she seemed to shrink back. The fear in her eyes made his heart ache. "Clara, I'll get us out of here, okay? You don't have to worry." His words didn't seem to have the comforting effects that he hoped. In fact, as he continued to walk towards her, she looked ready to sprint the other way.

She was scaring him. Why was she looking at him like that? It wasn't until she flinched away as he tried to touch her did it all dawn on him. Her father had been abusive. His fit of rage must've reminded her of him. "I'm sorry, Clara," he apologised again, but for a completely different reason. He never meant to seem like… like a monster.

She stiffened as he reached for her arm and pulled her into an embrace, but didn't pull away. Her quivering body felt fragile against him.

"I never meant to scare you. You know that, right?" he whispered into her hair. "I would _never_ be like him. I'd never try to hurt you and I would never leave you."

Clara let out a shaky breath and nodded her head. "I know that, but sometimes… I can't stop these thoughts and I just see someone else. When it happens, I don't know whether to cry or to…" She hesitated. Would he run if he knew what went on in her head?

"What is it?"

"I killed him and every once in a while, I just have that _urge_ ," she quietly confessed. "People who remind me of him. I'm afraid of myself. What if I just lose it one day and I hurt _you_ or worst, what if I _killed_ you! I don't think I'd be able to live with myself."

Josh sighed. It was hard admitting that his own pain wasn't the most important thing in the world, but he knew he'd have to work through it because there was someone even more broken than he was, whom he loved more than anything he'd ever thought possible. And right now, Clara needed him to help her – protect her – even if it was from herself. "I'm here for you and I swear you won't have to worry about that because I won't remind you of him again."

She looked up at him. A small smile slowly making its way to her face. "I love you, Josh."

"'Love you, too, beautiful." He kissed her forehead.

Wiping her eyes and finally getting a hold of herself, Clara looked around, trying to evaluate their situation. "What do we do, now?" It looked grim. The fire was still burning strong. Most of the roof had collapsed, taking down the second floor with it.

"Well, we can't take the cable car back." He still couldn't believe that he had been stupid enough to give it away without once questioning Sam's motives. "Maybe we can…" To be honest, he didn't know what they could do.

Clara looked down. They weren't going anywhere with this. Something had to be done or else they'd freeze to death before starvation even begins to set in.

With a deep breath, she felt herself _feeling_ more like herself – the receptionist at Dr. Hill's office; the rational woman who was beginning to understand how to help herself and other people. It wasn't the time for self-pity or panic. The first thing they needed to do was find shelter from the cold and the Wendigo, assuming that they haven't all died in the explosion. That must've been why the others destroyed the lodge, unless they just wanted to sabotage her and Josh. She really wasn't sure if she'd put it past them, considering everything that they had done.

"Let's head to the shed and barricade the door," she told him.

They headed up the trail. The blood splattered around the stool perplexed her. Josh didn't seemed to have obtained anymore injuries, so where did it all come from?

Noticing her inquisitive stare, he told her," It found the fake body and tore it apart. Must've been tricked by my professional skills. Not sure what happened to it." He shrugged.

It was a relief to know that Josh didn't have some missing parts underneath all that ugly clothing.

Clara looked around the room. There were a lot of tools and supplies, but nothing that seemed practical for their situation. What were they going to do with five round saws and tape recorders or mannequin bodies and buckets of pigs blood. "Do you have your phone?" Hers was left in her bag, probably nothing but a melted puddle of technology now in the lodge.

He shook his head. "Left it in the basement," he mumbled. "Besides, no cell towers."

She deadpanned.

"Hey! My family may have money, but not enough to throw millions around!" Something about his tone lightened up the mood. She didn't want to think about his family, but Josh was something else entirely. He made her feel safe and happy.

"Food, then?"

He walked to a cupboard and looked into an old metal box. He made a face at the smell, but pulled out a few granola bars and five bottles of water. They'd have to ration this if that was all they had.

"Maybe we could go hunting?" she suggested. It was risky, but they may not have a choice after the first couple of days.

Josh nodded. "Don't know the first thing about hunting."

"Me neither," she solemnly agreed.

Clara rummaged through the first aid kit. They wasn't much left. They couldn't afford any more injuries.

She knelt by Josh and they began to patch each other up.

Once done, they huddled together with their backs to the wall that had once served as an imprisonment for Ashley and Josh's fake body. The pig's blood had been completely wiped away, but the stench continued to linger.

Clara had her head on Josh's shoulder and he had an arm around her waist. It was quite romantic if it hadn't been for the fact that they were trapped on this mountain with man-eating monsters. "Josh, I'm just going to… nap a little…" Her eyes were already closed by the time he looked at her.

 _Clara hadn't been on the receiving end in Dr. Hill's office for a whiel now, but her last meeting with Josh had shaken her. "You knew." She stared accusingly at him. "All this time and you knew who he was."_

 _"Yes, I did."_

 _"Why didn't you tell me?!" she exclaimed. She was furious. Her entire life was a nightmare because of his family. It was almost like sweet karma to know that the twins are gone. "You know, he invited me to the lodge."_

 _Dr. Hill's face darkened. "I don't want you to go, Clara."_

 _"Why not?" She raised an eyebrow at him._

 _"I want you to tell me why you want to go."_

 _She smirked. "You always told me to be a little more outgoing. This seemed like the perfect opportunity. Don't you trust me, doctor?"_

 _"You have done so well in the past year. I just don't want it all to go to waste." He looked tired as if he had just spent the hour debating with himself._

 _Clara's quirked lips softened. "I know you mean well, but trust me, alright? I'll show you how much I've truly improved."_

 _He sighed in resignation. "Keep in contact with me. If anything goes wrong, I want you back here."_

 _"Of course, doctor."_

Clara shifted in her sleep, burying her face deeper into Josh's shirt. Her nose wrinkled. He stunk of sweat.

 _She had every intention of taking his life. His children to compensate for her parents. That seemed fair, no?_

 _When she arrived at the lodge, something about his easy-going attitude intrigued, yet frustrated her. He was a mystery. His flirtatious behaviour was unusual and she couldn't decide if it was genuine or if he was only playing with her feelings. Was he only going to end up hurting her? Flirting was something she wasn't familiar with, but talking to him made her feel… different. Her heart would beat faster than normal and her stomach felt as if it was full of uncomfortable, boiling hot bubbles. She chalked it up to the anger and hatred that she felt for his parents. Yes, it couldn't possibly be anything else. It simply couldn't._

 _As the night went on, she felt just a little more attached to him. He held the same anger and hatred and the need for revenge. If he had only been anyone else…_

 _Even then, Clara had found herself in a dilemma. She didn't want to hurt him anymore. Well, perhaps that wasn't quite right either._

 _She didn't want to kill him._

 _But then he played that stupid prank on her and something snapped. One moment she was in the basement with fear coursing through her body and the next, she was in a never-ending nightmare. The blood made her think of her mother and the man she had killed. Those memories taunted her – entwined dark thoughts into her mind. She had lost sight of her goal. Her mother needed to be avenged._

 _That moment now seemed hazy. All she could recall was the tight grip of jealousy and anger. Sam and Josh. Sam and Josh. Sam. Sam._ _ **Sam.**_

 _And when she went to look for him, she wasn't even sure why. All she knew was that she needed him with her. When the time came, was she going to kill him or hold him? It didn't even seem to matter. She confused herself. All her thoughts contradicted each other._

 _But one thing she knew was that seeing Josh alive in the mines felt wonderful. Her adrenaline was running so high and all she could do was react. Her hatred, her anger, but also her desire for him. She hadn't been able to think straight._

 _In all the haze, he came and pulled her out of it. When he was kissing her, all the other voices fell silent and everything felt… peaceful. Despite how quickly her heart was pounding in her chest and how nervous she felt, she was finally content._

Josh looked down at the redhead in his arms. He had never seem her so relaxed. What would've happened if he just took her on a proper date instead?

She shifted and began to mumble incoherently. "Josh…"

It brought a smile to his face, but it quickly disappeared. He didn't know how to get off the mountain. They could be here for days, weeks… His parents weren't home often enough to realise on time that he was missing. Were they going to end up like his sisters? Missing… Forgotten…

He rested his head on top of hers and closed his eyes.

 _DAY 2_

It seemed that they didn't have good self-control. Most of the granola bars were already gone. There were only two left. They needed to hunt. Even with dangerous creatures outside, they didn't have any other options .

"Come on, Josh." Clara had an axe in her hands. It was the only weapon they had, but perhaps they could scavenge a gun somewhere. The only problem was whether a gun would attract unwanted attention. "Wait… Wait! The guest cabin!" There had to be food there and new clothes – a fire… "I know it took Jess away from there, but it's better than the stupid shed."

"The shed's not stupid…" he grumbled. He had spent numerous hours there testing and retesting his masterpiece.

Clara took his hand and dragged him up the trail. The walk there was simple. Nothing came their way.

"Man, I forgot how nice this place is!" He threw himself on to the couch the moment they stepped inside. "You know, we're going to have so much alone time. We could always make some use of it." He grinned suggestively at her.

She shook her head with a small laugh. "Keep it under control, lover boy."

The mini fridge didn't have much, but the cooler had several liters of various drinks and boxes of pizza pockets.

"Oh yeah!" he cheered, peeking over her shoulder. "Real food and _booze_." He reached over to pluck a bottle out, but she slapped his hand away.

"We need a clear head and the alcohol could be put to better use." Like cleaning out wounds because both of them seemed to be prone to hurting each other or themselves.

He shot her puppy eyes, but she ignored him, opting instead to explore around the cupboards and shelves. There were several photos of his parents, which she promptly lay face down. She didn't need them constantly staring at her.

Josh returned to the cooler and opened up one of the boxes. It was fortunate that the generator was still working. He placed two pizza pockets on to a plate and popped it into the microwave. "This isn't so bad."

"No, I guess not." She looked at the windows and doors. "I'd feel better if we boarded those up, though. I don't want any of those things noticing us."

Josh sauntered over to the windows and closed the shutters. "Ta da!" He spread his arms out.

"Wonderful." She sarcastically clapped at him. "But we still need to fix the door." She peeked out. The sun felt warm on her skin. "We can just use those old boxes there. Why do you even have crates everywhere?"

He took a bite of the hot food that was slightly steaming in the cold room. "'S for all da stuff." He gestured whimsically with his free hand.

"Stuff?"

"The prank!" His face suddenly fell. "Shit! All the footage was in the lodge! Damn, we could've been famous, babe."

Clara sighed. She didn't want to think of his stupid plans because it only made her think of what she had done. "Don't call me that, Josh."

Once he finished stuffing himself, he got on to boarding the broken glass panel in the door. Not long after, they were both relaxing in the cozy cabin with a roaring fire in front of them.

"Now, _this_ isn't so bad." She snuggled closer into him.

"Does that mean I get a kiss?"

She smirked. "Just a little one."

He pulled her close and slammed his lips against hers. His hands were everywhere, but she wasn't complaining. He groaned when she nibbled teasing at his bottom lip.

"Fuck, Clara…" He tugged her shirt upward, but she quickly sat up, straddling his lap.

"Just hold me, Josh. I just want to be held right now."

He swallowed down the disappointment and tried to stop the blood from its downward course. He was sure that she could feel the bulge resting between her sweet, round bottom. "Come here, beautiful."

She leaned down and nestled into his arms.

This really wasn't so bad. It'd be better if they weren't trapped here with dangerous creatures lurking everywhere, but other than that, this was pretty damn nice.

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

I thought I'd give them a bit of a break. I'm not particularly good at writing romance, so the story seemed to have evolved into nothing but misfortunes for them. Do you think this is okay? I'd love it if anyone could give me advice with writing things like that. It's be much, much, much appreciated!

Aside from that, I'd love to thank **Lilygirl95, ILovePotatoes94, Dusk-deerfluff** , **peach-barnes,** and **Solleo93** for reviewing! You guys will get the happy ending first, but be warned that that would mean having a depressing (perhaps scarring?) last impression of this story.

Thank you as well to everyone who has favourited and followed this story.

I'm still looking for anyone who would possibly be interested in writing a lemon between Clara and Josh for me. Otherwise, you guys will just have to settle for some watered-down tease.

Actually, if I left the lemon out, do you think I'd get away with giving this story a T-Rating? Or perhaps I should just leave it as rated M?

I'd love to hear from you, so drop a review to help me get inspired. The ending of a story is always the hardest. I'd make do with an opinion, suggestion, advice, constructive criticism, or impressions of how I've established the characters thus far.

 _Echo_


	14. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN**

 _DAY 5_

He was bored. Sure, he had a babe with a rockin' bod sleeping – literally sleeping – with him every night and she kissed like a goddess, but there was nothing else to do! Everything was at the main lodge and that was gone.

"Do you think they'll ever come looking for us?" Clara had lifted her head from his chest to look worriedly at him.

He didn't know how to reply. Eventually, someone would probably come looking, but would they still be alive by then?

Even though they hadn't seen or heard a single Wendigo since the explosion, it didn't mean that they wouldn't starve to death or be ambushed by them.

"We're eventually going to run out of food," she mused, as if reading his mind. "I really want to try hunting. I've seen deer here. One could probably last us for a while."

He nodded to her idea, but without a gun, he didn't know how to catch one.

"We can set traps," she suggested. "Are there nets? Or bear traps?"

He shrugged.

She got off him with a huff. "You're no help."

"Come on, Clara," he whined. He didn't understand why they weren't going at it like porn stars, yet.

"I'm trying to think of ways to keep us alive, Josh. That's important to me, right now. If you're not going to help, then I'll figure something out myself." With that, she stormed out of the cabin.

She wandered off the trail, brooding, until a rustle caught her attention. Her immediate fear was that it was a Wendigo. She kept still until the sound of hooves were heard. The fear changed into excitement. It'd be fantastic if she brought back a deer on her first try.

Adjusting the axe in her hands, she tried to devise a plan to catch it, but nothing came to mind. She looked down at the tool, then to the unsuspecting animal. It was worth a try. What did she have to lose?

Pulling her arm back, she threw all her strength into the throw. The axe spun as it soared through the air. Just before it could make contact, the deer reared its head and galloped off.

Clara groaned at her terrible luck. What was she really expecting?

She retrieved the axe. As she did so, she saw a pack of deer approaching. They didn't look happy. Would she be able to outrun them? Until now, she always thought deer were cute and gently animals, but they definitely didn't look cute now. Their piercing eyes were fixated on her as if they knew that she had just tried to kill one of their friends. Perhaps they _did_ know.

Clara slowly took a step back, afraid to startle them into a stampede. She continued to back away until only their antlers were visible past the bushes, then, she ran at a dead sprint. Somehow, alone, even the most normal creatures seemed intimidating.

When she burst through the cabin doors, Josh jolted up from the couch to look at her with wide eyes. She slammed the door shut and slid down the barrier that separated her from the wilderness.

"Clara? Was it one of them?" If it had followed them here, neither one of them were going to survive long – perhaps not even until tomorrow.

She shook her head as he pulled her up and into his arms. "It's nothing," she whispered. "I was just being a big dummy." He smelled nice. "Saw some deer. They scared me, is all."

He chuckled. "Deer? You ran straight into the Wendigo's lair for me and some deer scared you?"

She whacked him in the chest. "Not just deer. They were like a gang of deer. Besides, I wasn't quite myself when I…" The guilt still hit her heard whenever she thought about it. It wasn't a memory she wanted to revisit.

"Hey, if you weren't there, I probably won't be here now," he told her. "The coward left us at the lake. Without you Han – The Wendigo… would've killed me. I'd be a Josh tartare!"

Clara shot him a weak smile.

The mood was solemn. NO one knew what else to say.

…

 _DAY 8_

Even Josh could see that they needed another food source, now. He had gone out with a half-assed plan and came back empty handed. It was heart-wrenching to see the disappointment in Clara's eyes.

They had tried different things over the last few days – starting a fire outside in an attempt to catch the rangers' attention, setting a rickety trap that caught nothing, foraging for edible plants… The problem was, neither of them seem to have any survival instinct. They didn't know what was safe to eat and what wasn't.

Their supply of food had rapidly dwindled down. With the shortage of food, they began to only eat one meal a day and the lack of energy set in quickly. Clara spent most of her days napping, while Josh would gaze at the fire, lost in thought. Soon, they were also going to lose power. There was only one can of fuel left. Josh didn't have the heart to tell her this.

He didn't know what to do. This was his family's resort and he couldn't even tell her if there were any extra provisions hidden anywhere or another escape route. He felt as if he had failed her.

"Hey, beautiful, I'm back!" Josh had been out chopping firewood. It was hard work, but it kept the cabin warm and liveable.

When there was no reply, he peeked into the bedroom and saw her asleep. As peaceful as she looked, he was worried. Her face was very pale and despite all the sleep, dark bags were present under her eyes. He knew that a glance at a mirror would reveal the same on him.

Tiredly, he slipped in behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. As his feet touched her leg, she flinched away.

"Cold…"

He smirked and nuzzled her neck. "You're hot enough for the both of us, hot stuff."

…

 _DAY 13_

They ran out of food and the generator stopped working, but the fire was still roaring endlessly in the cabin. They managed to boil snow to keep from dehydrating, but their stomachs were eating themselves.

It was difficult for Clara to stay awake. She drifted in and out of consciousness, even while speaking to Josh. The dreary days became torturous. He didn't know how much longer they could last here.

He swallowed hard and slipped out of the cabin. The shed was nearly void of anything useful, now. He scavenged around for any forgotten cans of fuel, but there were none.

His eyes trailed over to the cooler. He hadn't opened it since the second day. The power had only just gone out yesterday. IT should still be nice and cool in there. It would, however, be a challenge getting it up the trail.

He retrieved a trolley and heaved a side of the cooler on to it before pushing the rest on. He didn't have much choice now. Even if Clara hated him.

Tediously, he transported the cooler up to the cabin. When it was right outside the door, he peeked inside the cool interior. The still body of a Stranger was resting inside. The head was missing. It hadn't been worth taking.

 _"Clara, this is just all – you know – theoretical, but…" He hesitated to ask what her what had been on his mind for a while now. "What is your take on eating… her… human?"_

 _She raised an eyebrow at him. "You mean cannibalism?"_

 _He shrugged. "Just curious. My mind is always thinking of the next movie idea."_

 _"I don't think anyone should be eating another person," she told him. "I mean… this whole mess with the Wendigo… this Stranger told us that it stemmed from cannibalism on these mountains. I don't even want to think of the possibility that I could be one of those things." She shuddered as an image of the creature popped into her mind. "Promise me that you won't let it happen to me. Even if I starve and… and_ die _. I'd rather die than become one of them."_

 _He laid his cheek on her head and said nothing more._

This was his last resort. He could only hope that Clara would never find out because this wasn't something she would forgive. Ever.

…

 _DAY 14_

Clara felt awful. Despite being in a cozy bed, she felt cold. Her muscles were refusing to cooperate whenever she tried to move and her head was pounding. The wound on her arm, although not infect, felt tight and uncomfortable. She couldn't have felt worse.

She felt so lethargic that she couldn't even bring herself to cry. It was as if her emotions had also decided to go to sleep.

"Clara, babe." Josh came in and knelt beside her.

She stared apathetically back. "Hi, Josh," she croaked. Her throat was like sandpaper.

"Went hunting today. Guess what I got?" He lifted up a bowl of boiled meat. "Probably tastes like shit 'cause I can't cook, but at least it's something, right?"

Clara blinked several times, trying to figure out if her eyes were deceiving her. "…How?"

"Got a lucky catch." He already had some himself. It was tasteless and unappetising, but it filled his stomach. In fact, he was already feeling much better.

Clara tried to sit up, but couldn't even manage that much. The weakness of her body was frustrating. She wanted to do so much, but it was like being trapped in an empty shell.

Josh placed the bowl down and helped her up. He settled behind her. "Open up wide for the airplane." He moved the fork left and right and even made a stupid sound. "Open," he said when it hit her lips.

She hesitantly complied. It smelled rather funny, but after she swallowed the first few bites, it wasn't so bad anymore. When the food was gone, she felt… content. Josh kept his arms around her and the heart was returning to her body.

Unfortunately, she suddenly felt sick. Her stomach was churning painfully. She flung the covers off herself and stumbled into the washroom. Immediately, chunks of barely digested flesh spewed into the toilet.

Josh came up behind her and held her hair back, muttering frantically. She wasn't sure whether to her or himself. All she could feel was the pain in her stomach, the burning sensation in her throat, and the disgusting taste of her own regurgitation.

Once everything reappeared before her, she fell back, leaning heavily against Josh.

"Maybe I should've cooked it longer," he mumbled with worry.

She let out a whimper, twisting her body so that she was clinging to him. "Not your fault," she mumbled. "But my stomach feels empty… I'm hungry, again…"

After the initial reaction, her next meal ended wonderfully. She felt like herself again. When she requested to see his fantastic catch, he opened up the cooler, packed with snow. The meat was already proportioned. She was so proud of him.

"You're amazing, Josh." She pecked him on the lips, but he quickly deepened it.

His lean body was pressed firmly against hers. "Anything for you, princess."

She sighed happily as he ran his hand down her body. "I love you, Josh."

"I love you too, beautiful."

Their clothes disappeared somewhere behind an armchair.

…

 _DAY 19_

They were already running out of meat.

Josh wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't tell her why he wasn't able to get anymore food.

…

 _DAY 21_

"I'm hungry, Josh," she cried. Her stomach felt as if it was eating itself. It hurt.

She was so hungry.

It was as if eating something so luxurious had made everything worse.

…

 _DAY 25_

Josh held her. She had stopped responding for a while, now. It was probably for the best.

He could feel himself succumbing to the same alluring pulls.

…

 _DAY 28_

"Hey! Let's check out this cabin!" A man stumbled over a boney carcass. Deer?

"I think there might be survivors here!"

A flashlight cut through the still darkness in the cabin. The fire in the fireplace had long since died out.

"Look, Greg." John peered at the two still forms tucked in bed. It looked as if they were merely sleeping. "I think they're still breathing."

Greg jogged over.

Indeed, a man and woman were holding on to each other. If he hadn't seen the small rises under the cover, h would've thought they were dead.

"Get the rescue chopper over. We'll need to get them some medical attention ASAP."

As Greg walked out to talk to the pilot, John made his way over to the woman. She was skin and bones. Her hair looked brittle and some of it seemed to have fallen off. The same symptoms could be seen in the man. John hoped that they weren't too late.

He reached over to brush her hair away from her neck and check her pulse when he saw the man's eyes snap open. Dark amber orbs glared at him.

"Hey! Hey! I'm here to help!" John threw his hands up, surprised at the ferocity of those eyes glowing in the darkness. "Whoa!" Something wasn't quite right. "Greg! GREG!"

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

Sorry, this came out much shorter than I anticipated. Sometimes, I have more of a cinematic view of the story in my mind and this is how it came out this time.

I hope you guys won't hate me for another cliff hanger. I seem to have developed a tendency for those.

So, since this is really winding down, I was toying an idea with a possible, POSSIBLE sequel, but I'm quite sure yet of whether anyone would be interested in something completely out of the canon plot or whether I will be able to commit to it. Would there be anyone who would read a sequel for this story?

Aside from that, thank you **Solleo93, PorcelainPuppetLady, peach-barnes, ILovePotatoes94,** and **Dusk-deerfluff** for reviewing this story. I love you guys for all the support you've given me. This story is only continuing because of it.

I'd also like to thank everyone who has favourited and followed this story.

Lately, I've also kind of gotten myself hooked on Criminal Minds and Dr. Spencer Reid is just so bloody cute. I posted a chapter/one-shot of what I might have in mind lately. Not sure if there are any Criminal Minds fans out there, but I was just going to throw it out.

Thanks, again, everyone! As promised, the next chapter will be a happy ending… Maybe? Kinda… Ahaha… Happy endings… I don't think I've really ever written one. Maybe once a long, long time ago and it wasn't any good.

 _Echo_


	15. Chapter 14 - Ending

**CHAPTER FOURTEEN**

She was hungry.

She was so, so hungry.

She was _starving_.

She needed to eat. Eat. **Eat** _ **.**_

That feeling of soft flesh between her teeth; The blood that dripped down her chin and soaked into her tattered shirt. It felt so good. She needed _more_.

She was always so hungry now.

Her ears twitched as she heard something. With her nose in the air, she could smell the distinct scent of _life_. She was going to consume it. Devour it.

In a split second, she leapt into the air and pounced on the unsuspecting, brown deer. It reared its head and tried to throw her off, but it was futile. She had her sharp claws digging into its flesh. The fresh scent of blood was enough to amplify her appetite.

She roared at the frantic creature before sinking her teeth into its long neck. The fur was disgusting. It stuck to her teeth and the roof of her mouth, but she was just so hungry. She couldn't stop. She needed _more_.

Whacking annoyingly at the bits of fur sticking out of her mouth, she eventually gave up and brought her long nails into the bit of flesh that she had exposed. She hooked her fingers beneath the fur-lined skin and gave a hard tug. The tear was jagged and left patches of fur behind, but it was enough.

She happily buried her face back into the meat that was spewing out hot blood. _Delicious_.

If only Josh was here to share this with her. He'd love this.

Where _was_ he?

Where had Josh gone?

Josh?

She screeched into the air, hoping to find her mate.

There was no reply.

Josh was missing.

The deer was missing.

Josh was gone.

She was alone in the woods.

Why was she here?

Where was Josh?

 _Where was Josh?_

…

Clara's eyes snapped open. Her heart was pounding in her chest.

 _Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

Sweat trickled down the side of her face. It was reminiscent of the way that blood had trailed from her lips.

No… She needed it off. She couldn't be one of those things. She refused to be!

 _Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

"Doctor, she needs a sedative."

She told Josh that she wasn't ever going to be one of them! She told him! Why wasn't he there to save her? Where was he now?!

"Josh!" she screamed into the white ceiling. "JOSH!"

Hands pushed her body down as she tried to vainly struggle against them. She couldn't let them take her!

"Josh! Help me! Help me!"

A prick on her arm and a sudden rush of calmness washed over her. Her eyes fluttered shut for a brief moment.

"Miss Rose? Miss Rose, can you hear me?" A hand pried her left eyelid open and she was immediately assaulted by a bright ray of light.

S-Stop," she slurred, trying to slap the hand away, but there was something stopping her from moving. Why were they touching her?

"It's alright. You're safe, now."

Clara looked at the grey-haired doctor in trepidation. "Where's… Where's Josh?"

He shot the nurse a worried look. "Don't worry about him. He's fine. Let's worry about you first, okay?"

She frowned as he began to poke and prod her. "Where is he? I want to see Josh!"

The doctor leaned back with a tired look on his face. "Alright. If you can give us a moment to make sure you're fine. We'll take you to him."

Clara didn't want to wait. She was fine. She didn't want this stranger touching her anymore. Why were they keeping her away from him?

Once the doctor stepped away, she was relieved to know that he was keeping his word. The nurse pushed a wheelchair beside the bed and helped her on to it.

The travel there was torturous. The nurse was moving far too slowly. She needed to see him, _now_. Didn't anyone understand that?

Clara's thoughts raced in her head and only seeing him would calm her.

"Here we are, Clara." The nurse's voice was friendly, but all she wanted was to sprint away from her.

The nurse pushed the door open to reveal a dreary sight. Josh was laying in the hospital bed with his arms and legs restrained. There was a dark look on his face as he glared at the ceiling. He was mumbling angrily to himself.

"Josh!"

His head snapped to the side. The moment he saw her, he began to frantically struggle against the thick, leather straps. "Clara! Clara! Help me out of here!" He needed to touch her, to know that this wasn't just another one of this hallucinations. He needed her to be real.

"Calm down!" the nurse scolded him, while pushing the chair closer. "If you don't, I will have to take her away. I need to be sure that you're not an endangerment to her nor yourself, understand?"

He immediately froze and began to nod fervently

Clara wheeled herself the rest of the way and began to undo the straps. The nurse gave her a disapproving look, but walked out with a shake of her head.

"Josh!" She hoisted herself up and flew into his arms, ramming her body against the metal railing. It was going to leave a dark bruise, but her mind couldn't even seem to register the pain. All she knew was that he was here. "I thought something happened to you. I woke up and you weren't there and the doctors and nurses… they were looking so weird every time I said I wanted to see you. I thought.. I thought…"

He kissed her. "I'm here, Clara. I'm here now and I'm never going to let you go." He pulled slightly away to have a better look at her.

A fading bruise was on her cheek and there were stitch marks at the hairline. It looked as if she was only skin and bones. She had lost so much weight in the days that they were stuck on the mountains. "They wouldn't let me come see you," he told her. "Tied me down like I was crazy. I'm _not_ crazy!" He may have also punched a couple of male nurses along the way, but that was beside the point. He'd do anything to get back to her. "I love you, Clara."

She smiled. It looked so genuine – innocent, even. "'Love you, too."

With much difficulty, she managed to slide atop the railing and on to his bed, despite his worry-filled protests. She was much more comfortable with him. After spending so much time together in the cabin, it didn't feel right to be away, anymore.

"I still can't believe we made it," he laughed, once they were settled cozily in the small bed. "That wasn't so bad, though. I mean, sure we kinda starved and almost died, but I scored a hot babe."

She gave him a frown at his choice of endearment.

"Sorry," he half-heartedly apologised. He really wasn't sorry at all. "I scored myself a hot firecracker." He captured her lips, again. "Damn, you make me so horny all the time. We've gotta make our own porno film after this."

"Josh!" she scolded him with a whack to the chest.

Suddenly, someone cleared their throat.

They both turned to see Dr. Hill giving them a very stern, fatherly look.

Clara flushed and tried to pull herself from Josh, but two very grabby hands kept her in place.

Dr. Hill walked closer before taking a seat beside the bed. "May I start with saying, 'I told you so?'"

Clara was about to burn up into a powdery pile of embarrassment. The next best thing was to bury her face into Josh's hospital gown. It was really scratchy.

"Now, I see that the two of you have put aside all your differences. Reprimanding you any further at this point would be meaningless. However, I do expect to see you at my office within the week of your discharge, understand?"

They both nodded with guilty looks on their faces.

"Good." He stood up. "Rest well now because I have a feeling the others won't be as kind as me."

When he left, they were both confused with what he meant. Who had he been referring to?

The answer came quickly.

The police marched in shortly after Dr. Hill left. They separated the couple into different rooms despite the loud protests and started the interrogation. It was brutal. They wanted to know every last detail of what happened on the mountain.

Clara hated this. It brought back all the unwanted memories. Not only that, the officers seemed to have a detailed file on her past. They were relentless with their words, their opinions of her, their accusations.

"Do you think we'll blindly believe that there are these – what did you call them? – these Wendigo creatures in Blackwood Pines? Given your history, I'm inclined to believe that you have something to do with the injuries of eight individuals: Michael Monroe, Josh Wash – "

"I would _never_ hurt Josh." As soon as those words flew from her lips, she knew that wasn't the truth. She had hurt Josh and there was a permanent mark on his body to immortalise it.

The hesitation was enough for the officers to press harder. "What had they ever done to you? Are you going to lie about how they attacked you first like what you've done to your own father? We know about your history with the Washingtons. There's no use lying."

"No…" She shook her head.

The officer leaned closer to her. "We also found the remains of one more individual. We reckon he's a native there. I'm sure you know who I'm talking about. What vendetta did _he_ have against you, hm?"

"I didn't do anything with him! I didn't even know that he died!" she protested. "The last I saw him was when a Wendigo started chasing us. I ran away and never saw him again! As Chris! Chris was there!"

"Don't try to move the blame on to someone else," he hissed.

"I'm not! I'm only saying that Chris knows that I didn't do anything to the Stranger."

He sneered at her. "And do you know why there were only bones on him? Bodies don't decay that quickly in those temperatures and don't tell me it was those _Wendigo_ who fuckin' ate him."

"I told you! I don't know what happened to him!" Why _were_ there only bones left of him? Clara could feel her heart sink. Josh wouldn't… Josh wouldn't do that to her. He wouldn't! But she could still recall the texture of the flesh between her teeth when Josh fed her… The memories blended in and became distorted with the dream she had. "If I wanted to kill Josh, I would've done it during the time we were alone. We were there for nearly a fuckin' month before _anyone_ even _tried_ to rescue us! Were there no missing person reports? Did the police not do anything about it? Just like all the bleeding abuse I took as a child. All the abuse my mother had to endure because you police are _incompetent!_ "

"You listen here, missy," the man roared. "Your little friends must've wanted you gone because none of them said anything about two other individuals on the mountain. We did our job, but maybe no one else cared enough about you to tell us."

"Hey, Campbell…" The other officer was beginning to become uncomfortable with the direction the conversation had gone. This was supposed to be a simple questioning until the two were out of the hospital.

"You craved for a fix, didn't you?" Campbell continued on, watching the redhead shake her head profusely – both in frustration and in disbelief. "That's why they escaped and wanted you _dead_. Do you know what people like you are called? Psychotic serial killers!"

The nurse rushed in at the sight of her distressed patient. "Gentlemen, that's enough! I think Miss Rose needs her rest now."

Once the officers were gone, the nurse tucked Clara back into bed. "Sometimes, you just have to let what they saw blow by like insignificant chatter," she told the late teen. "But don't tell them I told you that."

Clara sniffed and gave the nurse an appreciative smile. "Thank you."

"Now, I meant what I said before. _Rest,"_ the nurse told her. "If I find you in that boy's room after I'm gone, I'm strapping you done. Got it?"

She gave her a meek nod before trying to get comfortable, but she couldn't sleep. There was just something missing – something warm and safe. She'd risk anything to get back to Josh.

Making sure that no one was watching, Clara crept out of her room, supporting herself with the wall. One step at a time.

"Josh?" she whispered when she entered his room.

The brunet man turned and held his covers up as if expecting her. The restraining straps were gone.

She hurried over and slipped in.

"Josh, I have a question… Why were there only bones left of the Stranger's body?"

…

Right after they were discharged from the hospital, Officer Campbell contacted her. Out of pure exasperation, they went together to give an official report at the police station. It was fortunate that another officer tended to Clara or she knew she probably would've lost it.

"Ready for the doc's talk?" Josh asked as he walked with her to the office. It was cold out, almost a reminder of their time on the mountain. The bright sun illuminating the entire town was the only thing that seemed to be keeping them sane. That, and the way their hands were entwined as if nothing could pull them apart.

When they reached the office building, however, it was as if reality was crashing down on them, again. Inside these walls, they were going to have to relive every horrors that they experienced and tried desperately to forget.

"We can do this." Clara squeezed his hand after seeing how nervous he looked. She, too, could feel her heart pounding in her chest. Words that she planned to say to the doctor raced in her head.

Once they were inside, the familiar scent of the old carpet – something that had brought her comfort, now felt stifling.

"Clara Rose," she told the young woman sitting in the receptionist area. "And Josh Washington."

Clara wasn't looking forward to this.

Dr. Hill say behind his desk as he always did, but the sheer disappointment in his eyes was almost too much for her to bear. She never meant to hurt him. Not like this. He was someone she truly trusted and looked up to. He was a parent figure she wanted to have when she was a child.

He gestured to the seat in front of him.

She meekly sat down, making sure not to make eye contact.

There was a long moment of silence where neither knew what to say. In front of him, Clara felt ashamed. He had spent so much of his time and effort on her and she ruined everything.

"I've failed you, Clara," was the first thing he said.

She looked up at him with wide eyes. 'No! I just.. If I listened to you, none of this would've happened." He looked at her with such sadness in his eyes that it alarmed her. "It was my fault. You've taught me so, so much. I've changed! I'm not that little girl anymore. I've changed! I feel better!' Her eyes were glistening with tears. "I am, aren't I?"

He sighed. "Clara, you've grown into someone no one thought you could be. You _have_ become better, but your journey isn't over yet and I don't think I'm the right person to see you through it."

She shook her head. "What are you saying? Why? You've taught me so much. A-are you going somewhere? I can wait! Please, d – don't give up on m- me… I can do better. I swear!"

"It's not that." He looked away. "I can't continue to treat you because I have been compromised. I can't look at this objectively any longer. I think I should've referred you over sooner and none of this would've happened."

"No… I don't want another doctor. I'm not going to another doctor. I won't be passed around like a broken toy!" she shouted through her tears. "I won't…"

"I know you want to get better and this is the only way." He knew how much it hurt her, but it was for the best. He needed to do what was best for her and he wasn't it. "It doesn't mean that I won't help you anymore, but we need a new set of eyes."

Clara closed her eyes in resignation. Everything had consequences and this was just another one. This was her fault. She messed up and now… "I don't want to go…"

"If you need me, I'll still be here, but not as your shrink. If you were a little younger, I'd adopt you as my daughter, Clara. That is how much you mean to me." At his words, she felt another stream of tears run down her face. Why couldn't he have been her father instead?

When she left the room, Josh was immediately on his feet as he saw her distraught expression. "What's wrong? Did he say anything to you?" He looked ready to hit Dr. Hill, but she shook her head.

"Just hold me, Josh." With his arms around her, she sighed and nuzzled his neck before her eyes settled on the receptionist. She pulled away. "Give me a second."

Rushing back into the office, she stood in front of Dr. Hill with a worried look. "My job… Did you…"

Dr. Hill looked regretfully at her. "It'll be yours when you're better, but for now, I think you should concentrate on getting used t – "

"Are you afraid I'll hurt your patients? Is that it?"

"No, Clara," he told her. "Not at all. You know that's not it. I need you to be in a different environment away from all this. Please, understand."

"H-How am I going to pay rent or the session with the… _new doctor_ without a job?" she cut him off in annoyance. How could he do this to her? How could he be so cruel?

"I think you should speak to Joshua about it." He looked so tired. "Clara, my referral does not mean that I've given up on you or stopped caring. I've told you that already, but I want you to _know_ it."

Numbly, she nodded her head.

When she walked back out, Josh led her outside without a word. "What did he mean when he said to ask you about my… financial problems?" she whispered to him.

He stroked her hand with his thumb. "He told me about your situation and I just thought maybe we could save some money by… living together? I mean, if you want to."

She stopped in her tracks to stare at him with shocked eyes. "You mean… move in with you? Don't you still live with your mum and dad, Josh."

His ears turned pink. "Don't say it like that! Besides, I think it's time to finally move out. I'll be twenty-one in a few months."

She smirked. "Do they trust you not to wreck your liver with all the parties I know you'll throw?"

"Oh, it'll definitely be a party every night if you'll move in with me." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

She threw her head back and laughed. "Alright, Casanova."

His eyes widened as if he was shocked by her reply, but a large grin quickly stretched across his face. "Really?"

"Yes, really. I'll live with you, but only if you feed me well. I've been pretty ravenous lately," she replied, rubbing her stomach.

"We'll be living like rich fuckin' porn stars!" He pulled her into a hungry kiss.

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

And there it is! The happy ending that I promised you guys. Is it to your expectations? Were you worried with how it started?

I hope it turned out alright because writing this was HARD. I'm no good with happy endings as I'm sure I mentioned somewhere previously.

At the moment, I'm slowly working through the alternative/unhappy/bad/potentially scarring/dark/dark/traumatic ending, but I hope you guys will also give that a read because… This story really hasn't been rainbows and butterflies to start with and in a way, the other ending I have planned seems more fitting. _However_ , if I do end up writing a sequel, it'll be a continuation from _this ending_.

Alright, I'm through ranting for now and would love to thank you wonderful reviewers: **Fire Thief, ILovePotatoes94, meangirl8, Solleo93, Dusk-deerfluff, peach-barnes** , and **PorcelainPuppetLady**.

I'd also like to thank everyone who has favourited and followed this story.

At the moment, I'm pretty depressed that there is only one chapter left. I've never finished a story so quickly or been so driven, must be that crazy Clara head space.

It's probably going to return if I start on the sequel. I'm still debating on what to do or whether to even do it, but I suspect it'll be pretty crazy, conflicted, and may end terribly for poor Clara and Josh. Maybe… Who knows? If there are enough people wanting it, I think the sequel will happen.

As a final little question: What did you think of the ending?

 _Echo_


	16. Chapter 15 - Alternative Ending

**Warning: Just warning… So be warned. Also, dark sexual implications.**

 **CHAPTER FIFTEEN – ALTERNATIVE ENDING**

"Eat, Clara." A strong coppery scent invaded her nose, but she was too hungry to care as a squishy piece of flesh pushed past her lips. As soon as the foul taste hit her tongue, she gagged and tried to push the hand away. "Shh… Shh… It's okay. Let me feed you."

In her tormented and dazed state, Josh's voice was the only comfort she had. She clung on to his every word, hoping that it would never go away. She'd listen to everything he'd say as long as it'd mean that he was never going to leave her.

"Sleep now, Clara." He curled up behind her. The hand that was resting on her stomach was damp. It soaked through her shirt and made her uncomfortable. Why didn't he dry his hands first? Sleep grabbed hungrily at her before she could make another coherent thought.

When she next came to, she was more lucid. She felt Josh's even breath on the back of her neck.

A smile was on her face as she turned to look at the gorgeous man slumbering in front of her. He looked so peaceful. She ran her fingers down the side of his cheeks before placing a soft kiss on those slightly opened lips and felt him smile back against her.

"'Morning, beautiful," he mumbled, tiredly.

She happily sighed. "Good morning." Her fingers travelled back up to his cheekbones, brushing softly against it and raked past the chapped lips. "I love you," she breathed.

He grinned widely and gave her lips a loud smooch. "'Love you, too."

When his hand reached over to touch her, she noticed something odd. "Josh, what's this?" His sleeve was crusted red. Had he hurt himself? When did this happen?

"I- I…" he stopped before blurting out, "I had to do it!" Guilt was written on his face as he continued. "You looked _dead_. I couldn't… I couldn't… So I…" His eyes involuntarily wandered to a spot behind her.

She sat up and twirled her head to the side.

The walls were splattered with blood. It had left a dark trail down to where a mutilated body lay. The stomach had been hollowed out. A bloody tangle of intestines were splayed across the dead man's face. There was no sign of where the flesh of the body had gone. It was just missing. It wasn't anywhere.

She could recall the way it felt in her mouth. The flesh was slimy and tough to chew. The metallic taste had overwhelmed her senses.

"No… No…" She shook her head in despair. "You promised me, Josh. You promised!" The Stranger's words echoed in her head. "I told you what would happen if we…" Tears streamed down her face. She was scared. The sinking feeling was fuelled by the knowledge that her stomach contained lumps of human flesh that was slowly being digested into her body.

"I'm sorry, Clara!" Josh sobbed. "I couldn't just let us starve to death!"

"I'd rather die than become one of those _things_!" she shouted, storming out of the room, only to find the second body. She screamed in horror and ran out of the cabin. She couldn't stay there with those corpses knowing what she had done to them.

She cried as she collapsed against a tree. The snow was quick to chill her inadequately clad body. The panic completely set in and she laid in a fetal position, violently trembling.

Was she already changing? Her hands looked paler. Some of her hair had fallen off. Were her teeth sharper? They hurt when she tested it on her tongue.

She didn't want to be a monster. She didn't want to eat people. She didn't want to crave the taste of that forbidden flesh sliding down her throat and feeding her unyielding appetite.

With these thoughts running again and again in her mind, she didn't know how long she laid in the cold. Her limbs were numb. She couldn't really feel anything, at all.

Nothing.

No, that was wrong. It was feeling warmer. Why? Had the sun come out?

Soon, she was feeling comfortably warm, then it was hot. It was _scorching_.

Her stiff fingers pulled at the collar of her thin night gown. Her breathing came out in harsh pants. It was too hot! She couldn't breathe!

She let out pitiful cries, trying desperately to cool herself down.

"Stop!" A different set of hands grabbed at hers. She struggled against them. He felt too warm. Why was he doing this to her? Why was he so cruel? He was going to burn her into ashes!

Josh tried to stay calm as he held her down, looking at her frantic form. She was freezing. Her lips had a bluish-purple tint. Fingertips were tinted similarly. The rest of her face was blotchy red.

"No!" he shouted at her. "You're not allowed to die on me!" In a burst of strength, he restrained her before sweeping up the half-conscious form into his arms. "Do you understand?! You're not leaving me, Clara! I won't let you!" He hadn't done all that, risk her hating him, just for her to die in his arms.

His warm tears left a cold trail down his face.

As soon as he entered the cabin, he stripped her of the wet clothes and wrapped her up in bed. The fireplace wasn't warm enough. He decided to envelope himself around her, hoping that his body heat would be sufficient.

"You can't leave me, Clara," he whispered. It was like seeing her drown all over again. His sisters' voices kept echoing in his head over and over and over again. Hannah was watching them now. Her dead eyes were fixated on him – accusing, condemning.

He wasn't going to let Clara die like his sisters! He wasn't!

Josh quickly got out of bed and started to cut up more of the man who had strolled into their bedroom as if _he_ was the one who owned the place. The bastard deserved to die!

He dug the knife into the flesh. The sharp blade cut cleanly. There was no regret in him when he gnawed on that man's disgusting meat. It was foul just as the intruder was, but it was something. He was hungry. He needed to eat. He needed to feed Clara.

He slipped a cube into his mouth. It wasn't so bad anymore – kind of like veal tartare. He poked around until he found the most tender part. This was going to be for Clara. Nothing but the best for his princess.

"Come on, Clara. Eat up," he urged the limp woman. "You'll feel better." He pushed the small pieces of meat past her lips. "My Clara…"

…

For the next few days, she had drifted in and out of consciousness. When she was lucid enough to look around, it was like waking up from a dream. The room was clean. There were no dead bodies anywhere. Had she dreamt up the entire thing?

"Mm… Clara…" She felt Josh grind himself against her. His body was flushed against her back.

"Josh…" She wanted to stop him, but in a split-second, he was fully sheathed inside her.

He was rough. The pain stabbed at her, but she felt as if she was drunk and the pain only seemed to heighten the pleasure.

"Fuck, Clara!" His movements were uncoordinated – haphazard. "Fuck! Fuck!"

"Josh!"

What was happening to them?

When he finished inside her, he nibbled on her ear. "I'm still hungry," he purred. "More…"

They were a tangle of limbs, clawing hungrily at each other.

"Josh, what's happening to us?" she whispered as they laid tiredly in bed.

He tilted his head to rest against hers. "I don't know, but I feel better, don't you?"

She nodded. Physically, she felt as if she hadn't just spent numerous days starving, but the persistent dread continued to dampen her mood. It was happening. There could be no other explanation of why they were recovering so quickly nor the sudden aggression that always nagged at the deepest corners of her mind.

After several minutes of silence, he got out of bed.

"Where are you going?"

He was at the threshold before he turned to reply, "Food after sex. That workout built up an appetite!"

She watched as he walked away. The hollow feeling of her stomach taunted her.

Clara tried to hold back for as long as possible. The minutes turned into hours, but eventually, the craving for something in her mouth and between her teeth became too much for her.

It was those little voices. They kept talking to her.

 _"Eat, Clara."_

 _"Why are you starving yourself, Clara?"_

 _"Just eat. You've already had a taste. What another bite do?"_

 _"Go on."_

 _"Satisfy that hunger."_

 _"There's no going back, Clara."_

The next time Josh went for another bite, she was right by his side. It was a perverse pleasure that coursed through her body as she consumed piece after piece.

 _More. More._

Josh growled and threw her against the mutilated body. She groaned, burying her face into the bloody mess as he entered her.

His nose prodded her neck and ear before he gave them both a little nibble. "Mine."

Clara licked her lips, the blood ran down the entirety of her face and poured into her mouth.

She panted heavily when they finished. Their bodies were covered with bodily fluids.

"Josh…"

He pulled her to him and easily carried her into the bathtub.

She looked back at him, the lust was still clearly in her eyes, despite how the rational part of her was screaming in horror. This wasn't who she wanted to be. She went through years of therapy and this was what she was left with? This half human, half monster.

Tears fell from her eyes as Josh washed her off. The tub was immediately strained dark pink. The water was nearly opaque with chunks of skin and flesh floating on the surface, slowly clogging the drain.

"Clara, we'll be together forever, now," he breathed into her ear.

The next few days, they continued their dark descent. Their cravings grew. Their hunger intervals shortened. There was this constant need to eat.

When the last of the meat was thinning out, they argued fervently – violently. Scratches littered his face and back. Dark bruises lined her arms and hip. Whether it was for the sex or the need to fight for the last delectable morsels, they could no longer tell the difference.

Clara curled up in front of the dead fireplace. The cold didn't bother her anymore. Sometimes, it felt as if she could feel nothing but hunger. The more she ate, the hungrier she became, the less anything else mattered.

Her lucid moments grew fewer and further between. She didn't want to lose her humanity. She didn't want to become one of those things!

At times, she'd stand in front of the cracked mirror to look at herself. Her grey eyes were lacklustre, almost as if there was a milky film over it. Her hair was brittle. It looked thinner. She was afraid to brush it in fear that all of it would just come off with the comb.

When she walked out of the bathroom, she found Josh sucking on the bone, depleting it of all the juicy sponge. There was nothing left of the men who were murdered here. Nothing but their broken, white remains.

"Hungry…" Josh threw the hollow bone away. "Want more!"

"There's no more," she whispered.

"No more?" He tilted his head. "Hungry! Hungry! Hungry!"

She stared blankly at him. "No more, Josh," she repeated, remorsefully.

"More!" He smashed his fist against the floorboards. "Clara, more!"

Clara knelt in front of him. She couldn't even make out any of his facial features anymore. They seemed to blur into a useless mess of dull colours. Sometimes, she couldn't even tell if he was in the room with her. Her vision was deteriorating at a frighteningly quick rate. "We've eaten everything," she told him. "There's nothing left."

He bared his teeth at her, not liking the reply.

"Josh. Josh. Josh." She held his face with both hands. "I love you so, so much." She kissed the corner of his lips. "So much."

His fingers dug into her skin as he pulled her into a sloppy kiss. Their teeth clashed together. The clothes were torn off in an instant. He landed heavily on top of her and began to quickly rut against her pale body.

Clara looked at the broken mirror of the two of them. What monsters had they already become?

She closed her eyes. She could hear his breath quicken. It was almost over. Soon. Soon…

There was no longer any pleasure in the act, only a hollow sensation of being used. Only the same empty feeling in her stomach as her endless craving stole her every thought – her every need.

It was going to be over soon.

He let out a final roar and sank his teeth into her neck, tearing the soft flesh painfully out of her body. She clenched her eyes as a cry of agony escaped. Blood bubbled up her throat, spewing out into a small puddle of red. It was still red…

She still bled red…

…

Josh savoured the delectable flesh in his mouth. It had been so long since he had fresh meat. It was so tender, so juicy.

He leaned down for a second mouthful. The euphoria that it gave him was amazing. Only Clara could make him feel this way. Clara. His Clara.

He sucked in a sharp intake of breath.

His Clara.

His. Clara.

He groped blindly for her face. Her entire body was motionless against his. "Clara!" he croaked. His fingers brushed the missing chunks of her neck. Blood was everything. It pooled around them and left his skin slick and warm.

"Clara!" he shouted, willing for her to reply.

What had he done?

"No, wake up… You can't do this to me. Clara!" He pulled her up and shook her limp body. The head lolled to the left. Motionless. Lifeless.

"No… No…"

 _"Josh, I love you."_

"No!" He shook his head. "Y-you're not dead, Clara. You're here." He rubbed his face against her hair and kissed her lips. He could taste the blood that once ran so warm in her body; that brought out the cute blush on her cheeks. He would never be able to see it anymore. He'd never be able to see her eyes sparkle in mischief or darken with lust or anger or even with murderous intent. He'd never be able to see any of them, again.

" _Why did you kill me, Josh?"_

"I didn't!" he cried. "I didn't…" She couldn't be dead. They were going to live forever, even if it was on these mountains. They were going to be together forever.

Josh clung on to her, crying on to her lifeless body.

…

A bright light streamed through the cave. A group of rescuers were huddled together to keep warm from the bitter cold. They had heard about what happened to the first pair who were dispatched. They went missing and none was able to find them.

If Bob Washington hadn't paid them so much, they would've never left the comforts of their homes for this.

"Hey, what's that?"

They pointed their flashlights to a hunched form partially hidden by a small boulder.

"Is that… him?"

Josh's glazed eyes snapped up to the intruders.

He clutched something possessively against his chest. His sharp, elongated teeth bared at them. No one was coming near them.

"I-is that a skull?!"

Clara was his.

"Oh, my God! What's happened to him?!"

He was going to protect her.

"Fuck! It's coming our way!"

No one was taking her away from him.

* * *

 _AUTHOR'S NOTE_

Meep! I'm actually quite frightened what your reactions will be, but also quite excited to know. I never thought I'd actually end up putting so much naughty stuff in here. I thought with turning into a Wendigo, the human would begin to resort to its most primitive instincts, which is to survive and mate. Hopefully it doesn't offend anyone. I'm also not sure if it's quite scarring enough. I guess you guys will have to tell me.

I've mentioned this before, but I'm still completely shocked how this story turned out. At first, I was so worried that Clara would end up a Mary Sue. She was supposed to quickly fall in love with Josh, go through the motion of the canon plot, and have a fairy tale ending with him. Not quite sure what happened to that.

When did things go so wrong?

Ahh… There were also quite a few comments about Mike. I did deliberately leave that out because it didn't seem to fit the rest of the story, but… if/when the sequel comes out, it's going to be properly addressed. I have a small plan already, but it's been difficult trying to form something coherent together.

Now, I'd like to thank my wonderful reviewers: **Overrated Fiction, meangirl8, ILovePotatoes94, Dusk-deerfluff,** and **peach-barnes**. You guys are wonderful.

I'd also like to thank everyone who has favourited and followed this story.

And as a big, big, big, big, BIG thank you to everyone of you reviewers who has ever reviewed this story: **Solleo93, peach-barnes, Dusk-deerfluff, ILovePotatoes94, meangirl8, Overrated Fiction, PorcelainPuppetLady, Fire Thief, Lilgirl95, Guest** (Guest) **, MikoDarcia** (Guest) **, Connie Hooper, gabicpa, Optimistic Theory** (Guest) **, Atsirk Enoh, Eli** (Guest) **, VoldemortsBFF, bloomisakura, AroraHybrid, Aplin, Guest** (Guest) **, Chloe** (Guest) **, vany** (Guest) **,** and **xxKhaleesixx.** You guys are what kept this story going and coming to a finish. My track record for finishing stories is terrible, but somehow, with your help, it's done!

I'll be sad when I wake up and won't get those pretty e-mails notifying me of your comments.

As of now, however, I'm just happy that it's finished and hope that you guys have enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Even though it's done, I'd still be eternally grateful if you'd just leave a review, opinion, comment, suggestion (for the sequel?), constructive criticism, etc…

 **If/When I post the sequel, I will add an A/N Chapter to this story to alert everyone that it's been posted, so be sure to follow this story.**

Thank you, once again! Thank you so, so much for sticking it out the entire way with me. I absolutely adore all of you and hope to see you in the sequel!

 _Echo_


	17. SEQUEL IS UP!

**Happy Hallowe'en!**

It's been a year since I last posted here and the first chapter of the sequel is finally up!

Thank you again to everyone who has reviewed, favourited, and followed this story. I hope to see all, or some, of you in the new story! It is currently labelled "Untitled," but I do plan to change it soon (along with the summary)!


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